The Hobbits go to Hogwarts
by DoctorWhovian18
Summary: The Fellowship find themselves waking up in the Forbidden Forest, with no idea how they got there. They are taken up to the castle by Hagrid and on the way, a certain two hobbits meet a certain two Weasleys. Oh no! Anything could happen...and it does! Lots of interaction between Fellowship and Hogwartians. All your fav characters appear. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**^_^ Hello, everyone! This story will be centred on Merry and Pippin and Fred and George Weasley, with plenty of Fellowship and Hogwarts fun thrown in. Most of the chapters will be light-hearted as the purpose of this fic is to show what the four greatest mischief-makers in fiction can get up to when they get together, however I can't resist throwing in a little drama here and there, mainly centred on Frodo and Harry...yeah...**

**Also, I'm relatively new to LOTR. I've seen all three movies and read most of the Fellowship, plus read loads and loads of fanfiction and stuff on LOTR wikia, so I hope I get the characters as spot on as possible. However, any references will be to movieverse and the characters I picture are movie characters, not book characters, only because I haven't finished the books yet and I don't want to get anything wrong.**

**Anyway, any ideas anyone has for pranks (who by, who on, etc) please PM me them rather than review, because everyone can see the reviews and I think it's better if everyone doesn't know what's coming. But I really need help with ideas, especially pranks against Umbridge - cause this is set in Order of the Phoenix for HP and before Caradhras for the Fellowship. Ok, now all the explanation stuff is out the way, enjoy the story!**

"Where d'you think we are, Merry?" Pippin asked apprehensively.

The two Hobbits had woken up here not five minutes ago, the rest of the fellowship still unconscious around them. They were in a forest, as they had been when, without explanation, they had collapsed following the strangest feeling of vertigo, but it was clear that it was not the same forest. Pines surrounded them, for one thing, whereas the forest they had been in was largely oak, and there was a creepy feeling to the air. Mist twirled around the tree trunks, little light penetrated the thick foliage rising so far above them, and every few seconds both Hobbits swore they heard the far off cries of something that wasn't any animal they recognised.

"I don't know, Pip." Merry replied. "But it looks like the trees start thinning a bit over there, so maybe we can work it out once we're away from the forest. Let's try and wake the others."

Pippin nodded, trying to hide his nerves. He always tried to be brave in front of his cousin, even more so since starting out on this quest…thing. It did make him stop trying so hard, though, when he saw that Merry was also attempting to quell his trembling hands.

Between the two of them, they had the rest of their group awake in a couple of minutes. They all agreed with Merry's idea, after Legolas had confirmed that the trees did indeed stop after several hundred metres. Gandalf and Aragorn immediately started discussing the potential pine forests near their last location, but soon reached the conclusion that there were none except Lothlorien, which they had Mount Caradhras to traverse before they reached.

The calls of the strange creatures Merry and Pippin had heard suddenly sounded a lot closer as they began walking. Soon, Legolas' keen elf ears were able to identify it.

"Riders, on some sort of hunting party." He said. "It sounds like they have arrows, and I regret to inform everyone that they're coming this way."

They didn't know whether the riders were enemies or friends, but there was nowhere to hide. So, with only a quick and unnecessary glance at Frodo to make sure the Ring was hidden, they could do aught but continue.

After a mere five minutes, the riders could be seen galloping towards them, weaving their way between the trees with skill born of years and years of practice. Only…there was something off about them.

Once again, Legolas noticed it first, followed by the four Hobbits. "Why…they…they appear to be men and horses combined. I've never seen nor heard of such beings in all my years!"

"Nor have I." Said Gandalf, which everyone knew pretty much meant that they didn't exist in Middle-Earth. But then the only possible explanation would be that they are no longer in Middle-Earth…

As the beings rode up towards them, the one who appeared to be the leader ordered a halt and then approached the fellowship on his own.

It rode around the group on its hooves several times, sniffing at a few of them and raising eyebrows at others. Aragorn kept a firm hand on Gimli's shoulder to stop the dwarf from making any sharp remarks. The hobbits huddled together, scared, while the others of the Big Folk gazed warily at the newcomer.

"Mars will be high in the sky tonight, if such strange people should wander into our forest." The being suddenly said, making everyone jump as they hadn't known whether it could speak or not. "State your intentions, and species, for you are not recognised by me, except for you two." He pointed at Aragorn and Boromir.

The former stepped forward. "We do not know how we came to be here. We were travelling through a forest quite different to this one, when a strange white mist gathered around us. We fell unconscious and woke up here. I'm sorry I cannot explain any more than that. As to the rest, Boromir and I are human, Legolas is an elf, Gimli is a dwarf, those four, Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry are hobbits, and Gandalf is a wizard." Aragorn pointed at each member as he introduced them, deliberately avoiding full names and titles.

"A wizard?" The creature hissed suspiciously, leering at Gandalf. "You look similar to the Headmaster, but you are clearly not. There are many wizards here, for this forest lies on the grounds of a wizard school. However, the others you mentioned…I have not heard of their like before. You are strange indeed. The stars shine upon us."

He spoke very strangely, and whenever he mentioned something to do with the planets or stars he would gaze up into the sky, though it was clearly the middle of the day.

"And what, if it is not wrong in me asking, species are you, good sir?" Aragorn asked.

"I? I and my brethren are centuars. My name is Firenze. I was chosen to greet you as I am more…comfortable around those who are not of my kin than other centuars. Come, I will lead you out of the forest and direct you to the school."

Aragorn and Gandalf shared a look, before agreeing. The hobbits relaxed slightly now that they were certain Firenze wasn't going to shoot them. Merry and Pippin jogged forwards and, hesitantly at first but growing in speed and number, began asking many questions. Frodo and Sam stayed back, more at Sam's insistence than from Frodo's own fear.

Finally, after fifteen minutes or so, they reached the edge of the forest and beheld the glorious castle that, as they had been told by Firenze, was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. No-one would have guessed it was a school, but Firenze assured them that he was not wrong.

"Ah, look, you can even see one of the classes happening now." He pointed towards a small stone hut at the edge of the forest. A short distance away from the hut grouped about twenty students or so who were crowded around an alarmingly large man with a beard to rival the proudest dwarf's. "They would be nearly finished by now, you can accompany them back to the castle. I must return to my people now."

With that, the centaur vanished into the trees. The fellowship hesitantly approached the group. Once the giant man spotted them, the hobbits tried to hide themselves behind Gandalf.

The man held up a hand to the students, clearly telling them to wait, and stomped over to the group in boots the size of buckets. He was smaller than the giants Gandalf remembered…roughly the size of a troll, but he was clearly no troll.

"'Ello!" the man called good-naturedly. "I thought you were me Headmaster for a mo'. Blimey! You look awful los', 'ow did you get on the grounds?"

Gandalf explained the same thing Aragorn did to Firenze.

"All righ'. M'name's Hagrid. I'm the gatekeeper and Professor of Care of Magical Creatures here at Hogwarts. If you don' mind waitin' a bit, you can come up to the castle with me class and we'll get you to Professor Dumbledore. He's the Headmaster." He then realised that the hobbits were obviously scared of him, so he knelt down in an effort to make himself appear smaller and said, "No need to be fearin' me, little ones. I wouldn' hurt a fly, let alone four small lads like yourselves."

Frodo, trying to be the brave one for his cousins, peeped out from behind Gandalf. Hagrid was beaming at him; a smile that was so infectious that Frodo couldn't help one grow on his face as well. The other three noticed and instantly relaxed, although Sam kept glancing at Hagrid suspiciously.

The fellowship hung back and waited patiently for the class to finish, which it did, rather poorly because the students kept looking over at the group and whispering to each other. In fact, once Hagrid declared the lesson over and began trudging up the steep slope to the castle, two students separated from the bundle of black cloaks and hung back to walk with them. They were clearly identical twins. Both were tall and had striking ginger hair. The impish grins on their faces mirrored those usually worn by Merry and Pippin when they were up to their tricks.

"Greetings, tall people, and small people." One of the twins said. "I'm Fred Weasley and this is my brother, George, nice to meet you!"

Fighting back laughter, Aragorn introduced everyone. Merry and Pippin had clearly noticed that they had two kindred spirits before them, so the four struck up a conversation as they neared the castle. They tried to keep their voices down, but it was clear to any who heard that trouble was just around the corner and soon everyone would rue the day that Fred and George Weasley met Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck.

**I hope I got Hagrid's speech patterns right. Please point out if I didn't! And anything else, too! This is my first time attempting a crossover and my first foray into LOTR and HP fanfiction. Review, favourite and follow please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2, here we go! Thanks to everyone who has read this so far. Now we get to see how the twins and hobbits get on ^_^ I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, so I hope you have fun reading it!**

**Also, I forgot to do a Disclaimer, so: None of the characters, place names or themes in this fanfic belong to me, much to my disappointment, they belong to JK Rowling and JRR Tolkien. I only own the plot of this fic. :(**

**Enjoy!**

"All right, so who's off limits, if anyone?" the two hobbits asked the twins. It had been over an hour since the four had met and they had remained mostly separated from the Fellowship while they had been taken to the Headmaster's office and their situation explained. Merry and Pippin had been awestruck at the castle and the magical feel of everything, from the strange eagle-like statue that had moved of its own accord to reveal the staircase to the Headmaster's office, to the floating candles that now hung above their heads in the Great Hall. They had experienced magic in Rivendell…but this was something else. However, what really had the hobbits' eyes as large as cartwheels was the immense amount of food that had – again, magically – appeared on the four long tables. It was the first time since leaving the Shire that they had seen enough food as should properly be laid out for a feast. After eating their fill of both the dinner and the excellent puddings that followed, the hobbits and the twins engaged in a long conversation about both Middle-earth and this strange place Fred and George were from that was apparently called the United Kingdom.

They spared a quick glance at the rest of the fellowship while Fred and George prepared their answer. Frodo and Sam had both drifted into content dozes after the meal, Gandalf was up at the staff table at the head of the Hall talking with the Headmaster, Legolas and Gimli were down the table a bit, the latter also slightly dozing while the Elf looked around as bright-eyed as always. The two humans sat across from them, talking animatedly with several students.

The twins' faces split into identical grins. "Well, most of the teachers are to be left alone. Only cause they can take points away and dish out punishments. Even though you're not part of the school, I wouldn't put it past McGonagall to get you scrubbing the staff lounge from top to bottom if she caught you." Fred indicated one of the teachers; a stern-faced woman whose hair looked to be so tight in her bun that Merry was surprised her face wasn't distorted. "However, if you are very careful, pranking Snape's always satisfying." He then pointed to a greasy-haired man whose expression was like someone who wished he were anywhere other than the Hall. "Just don't get caught! Other than that, Filch is the caretaker so he can't do much, although he'll threaten the worst. You can get away with a lot with him. The one person that we think you should not hold back at all with is _her_."

Merry's and Pippin's eyes followed the twins' glares to a woman not much taller than a dwarf, all in pink with a funny bow on her head, also pink. She was smiling widely but the gesture didn't reach her eyes, which were beady and shifted their uncomfortable gaze to each member of the fellowship in turn and back again. It gave her the appearance of a toad watching its fly prey. They instantly disliked her.

"_Professor_ Umbridge." George spat, putting as much sarcasm into the name as he could. "That evil toad works for the government, which at the moment is being a right bunch of idiots. She's trying to interfere with everything we hold dear here at Hogwarts and it's all because of someone that I'll introduce you to in a moment." He sighed wistfully and looked at his brother. "Oh, the things we'd love to do to her. But, alas, if we were ever caught, poor Gryffindor would lose the house cup from the amount of points she'd take, or worse. But with you two…" he winked at the hobbits.

The twins had already explained about the houses, throwing in such details as "Ravenclaws are a mostly snooty and smart bunch, but there are a few rare sapphires. Luna Lovegood, for one, is always an interesting person to have a chat with", "Hufflepuffs don't get involved in much. I think actually, they're the smart ones. Never much trouble" and "those filthy Slytherins deserve all the bad rumours about them, most of which are true, mind. They talk tough, but don't worry."

"Understood." Pippin said, his and his cousin's minds already working fast on what to do first. Fred and George had told them that they had several ideas they'd been itching to try as well. "What about the students?"

"Everyone." The twins said identically. "Especially Draco Malfoy and his two lackeys. Well, really, anyone from Slytherin. Oh, and our dear brother Ron. He deserves a prank or two nowadays. I'll introduce you to him, and his best friends." Fred leaned back and whistled down the table. "Oi! Ron! Come up here and meet the newcomers! Oh, and bring Harry and Hermione too!"

A smaller but equally ginger figure separated itself from the mass of black cloaks and made his way down to them. He looked about fifteen in human years. Following was a boy whose hair was a deep black. He wore glasses and as he got closer, Pippin noticed a strange scar on his forehead, shaped like a bolt of lightning. On the other side of the table, a girl came and seated herself in the empty space between Aragorn and another student.

Pippin instantly knew that he was in love.

For one thing, her hair was curlier than even the most beautiful hobbit maid's, her eyes were the gorgeous brown of freshly hoed soil, her expression was one of intense curiosity and slight amusement. She looked at him and smiled a dazzling smile. Pippin smiled back, but found he couldn't prompt himself to do anything more.

"Well, little brother, this is Pippin and Merry…or, would you rather I gave your full names?" Fred asked the hobbits. Merry shook his head, noticing as he did that Pippin was staring at the girl with an expression he wished he could capture a painting of. Fighting down his amusement, he returned his attention to the newcomers. "Hobbits, this is my brother, Ron, his best friend, Hermione Granger, and…drumroll please…Harry Potter!" the name was accompanied by a loud 'ta-da' by both twins.

The black-haired boy rolled his eyes at the dramatization. "Really, Fred? As if I need any more attention drawn to myself." However, he smiled and held his hand out to be shaken by Merry.

The girl chuckled and raised her eyebrows at Pippin, who still hadn't moved or made any reaction to his surroundings.

"Hobbits? Ooh, what are they?" She asked eagerly, eyes shimmering with the prospect of new knowledge.

Ron suddenly noticed where Pippin's attention was and went slightly red around the ears. "So, Pippin, we've heard a bit about you and your friends." He said loudly, effectively ignoring Hermione's question, clapping a hand rather harder than necessary on the hobbit's shoulder in an effort to break the daze he had gone into.

Uh-oh, Merry thought, it looks like Ron has his eye on Hermione. Poor Pippin.

Fred rescued Pippin from the awkwardness by asking, "So, what about your lot? Anyone off-limits?"

Pippin thought for a moment, looking determinedly away from Hermione and Ron. "No. Only…I guess you should go easy on Frodo. Don't do anything to hurt him or scare him."

"We don't really do that sort of stuff anyway, but why specifically him?" Fred asked.

Merry considered whether or not to tell their 'secret', before deciding that, seeing as how they weren't in Middle-earth anymore, it didn't matter. "Because Frodo carries the One Ring."

When met with only blank stares, as expected, the hobbit elaborated, explaining as briefly as possible about the Ring and the effect it had on Frodo. Harry's eyes seemed to light up as Merry spoke and, afterwards, he made his way down the table to sit next to Frodo. Merry raised an eyebrow at Fred and George, hoping for an explanation of his own.

They obliged, with help from Ron. So it was that the two hobbits heard of Harry's own story and, as they looked at the two 'chosen ones', they couldn't help notice the similarity. One was man-sized and the other hobbit-sized, but both had the same intense weight of responsibility and tribulation in their eyes.

"It looks like tonight is the start of some incredible friendships for us all." Merry said, smiling slightly.

**Lol, poor Pippin. Next chapter will move away from these four and focus on the rest of the Fellowship and their interactions with the Hogwartians (lol). Also, some things will be explained. What things, you ask? Well, wait and see! Also, please don't forget to review as I need opinions on this fic so I know whether it's worth expanding as much as I'd like. And don't forget to PM me any prank ideas that you have! Any idea helps! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, everyone, here is the next chapter. The connection between Middle-earth and the Wizarding World is slightly explained in this chapter. It references a fan theory that I came across on the internet the other day. I don't know who came up with the theory but basically It states that the other two 'blue' wizards (other than Gandalf, Saruman and Radagast) are actually Dumbledore and Grindelwald. The two Wizards 'went east' and, according to this theory, got to the Wizarding World. I thought the theory would fit well with my fic. Unfortunately I don't know who came up with it so I can't give them the credit, but whoever did has a really cool imagination. Anyway, this chappie deals with the others, enjoy!-**

Harry felt a mixture of emotions upon meeting Frodo. Relief, for he had never in his wildest imaginings hoped to find someone else who could understand what he went through every day, someone who knew the pressures of being 'the one' and whose life was constantly in danger. But also sorrow, that someone else had to experience it at all.

They talked and talked and talked long after the students were dismissed by Dumbledore, sitting up in the Gryffindor common room until it was completely empty. They paid no heed to the time slipping by, as it was Saturday the following day and all Harry had was Quidditch Practice in the afternoon. Harry found himself revealing things to Frodo that he wouldn't even comfortably discuss with Ron and Hermione; his dreams, his fears, and the feelings he would get that weren't his own.

In return, Frodo openly showed him the Ring and confessed how it was affecting him. The small – hobbit, he remembered he was called – seemed very afraid, but also very brave as not once did he ask Harry to take the Ring and keep it somewhere, for it was instantly clear that it did not affect him. They supposed that this was because Harry wasn't from Middle-earth, so the Ring had no power over him.

Once they had exhausted conversation about themselves, they turned to the worlds they came from. Harry was fascinated with Middle-earth, which sounded not too different from medieval Europe, while Frodo was eager to learn all about Hogwarts. Harry, realising that Frodo was from a time long before technology and cars and whatnot, avoided questions on the muggle-world. The hobbit didn't seem to care, being content to hear about magic and the teachers and the Ministry, especially how they were interfering in the school under Umbridge. Fury shone in Frodo's incredibly bright blue eyes upon hearing Umbridge's method of 'punishing' Harry.

"That is torture." He stated flatly. "Downright torture. I thought your Headmaster was a kind person, surely he is trying to stop this?"

"First, I'm not sure that he knows." Harry confessed.

"You mean you haven't told him?" Frodo's voice was full of shock and mild anger.

Harry ignored the accusation. "Secondly, even if he is or was aware, he can't do anything. If he protests Umbridge, he could very well be sacked, and then where will that leave us? At the mercy of Voldemort."

Frodo looked down and Harry realised that he was rolling the Ring between his fingers. Some strange thought seized him that the hobbit shouldn't be doing that, so Harry reached out and prised the fingers apart, letting the Ring drop down onto his chest, where it glinted innocently.

Wanting to distract Frodo, Harry asked, "How old are you, anyway?"

"50." Frodo answered with a wry smile.

"50!" Harry gasped. "No way! You barely look older than eighteen!"

"Hobbits reach maturity at 33. I guess you could compare that to eighteen years in Men's terms. I have done the math before; in human years, I'm about 26." Frodo explained.

"You still don't look twenty-six." Harry pointed out, not convinced.

"It's because of the Ring. It grants long-life and prevents many signs of aging. I received the Ring when I was 33, so that is how I still look."

His voice was suddenly quite small. Harry noticed that the hobbit's eyes were quite red with tiredness. Dark shadows stood out starkly against his fair skin. Harry figured that, because of the dreams, he probably didn't look much better. He suggested they go to bed, and Frodo readily agreed. They trudged up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, where four identical hobbit-sized beds had been laid out in a separate room. Three were occupied and Frodo went and sat on the fourth, wishing Harry a goodnight.

Harry returned to his own dormitory, still puzzling over this strange little person who seemed so like himself…

* * *

Legolas and Gimli, along with the other non-hobbits of the Fellowship, had been shown to sleeping quarters in a spare room next to the staff lounge.

They had spent the remainder of the feast being bombarded with questions by a girl with a rather large amount of bushy hair. Her eyes sparkled with each answer, which only seemed to spur her on to more questions. She was especially eager to hear about Elven and Dwarvish history and customs. Both were surprised to hear that neither species existed in this strange world, although she did mention House-elves, which Legolas said to her that he would love to see upon hearing how different they wer. They were happy to oblige with explanations, but both were also quite tired (well, Gimli was, anyway). When the school's Headmaster bid everyone a goodnight, the girl, whose name was Hermione, had made them promise to meet her outside the Great Hall the following morning as she wanted to make notes.

Legolas was the only one of the pair who was actually looking forward to it, as he had seen the great intelligence the girl possessed and was more than happy to increase her knowledge. Gimli on the other hand, although he thoroughly enjoyed singing the praises of the Dwarves, had already grown tired of the excessive questions. However, he reassured Legolas that he would accompany him during the next day's Q &amp; A session.

While Gimli quickly fell asleep and begun snoring loudly enough to be heard through the thick stone walls, as Dwarves do, Legolas seated himself against the window of his room and gazed up at the dazzlingly clear night sky. He recognised all of the constellations, which led him to the trail of thought that maybe this world and Middle-earth weren't as far apart as they seemed.

* * *

Sam relaxed, upon realising that his master was completely occupied talking to the boy with the lightning scar, as well as being truly safe, for the first time in weeks. In fact, Sam figured it was the first time he had relaxed since they had left the Shire. Even though they had been comfortable in Rivendell, Sam had still been constantly anxious for Frodo, noticing how the Morgul wound pained him even until the day they left. Now, Frodo was away from Middle-earth, away from danger.

He struck up a conversation with Boromir, wondering idly how long they would be able to stay here and when, if ever, they would return. Though the Headmaster had explained his theory as to how the Fellowship had gotten here, a lot of it went over Sam and Boromir's heads. The only people who seemed to understand it a bit were Strider and Gandalf.

Aragorn himself was gazing up at the two wizards at the staff table, who were deep in discussion. He remembered a couple of hours ago when they had met Professor Dumbledore. He could've sworn that, when Dumbledore saw Gandalf, there was a flicker of something in the Professor's eyes. Almost like…recognition…but it couldn't be. How could that be possible?

These wonderings occupied the majority of his thoughts throughout the feast, but he also noticed and was happy to see everyone else get acquainted with the students, especially the hobbits. Aragorn could see the trouble brewing between the two red-haired twins and Merry and Pippin, but for once he wasn't annoyed, but instead happy that they could have some fun after so much hardship. He was also overjoyed to see Frodo's eyes alight as they hadn't been since Elrond's Council as he talked to a boy with jet-black hair.

Well, Aragorn thought, whether we can get back home soon or not, the time we spend here will do us all a world of good.

That night, Dumbledore paced back and forth in his study, stopping every now and then to extract a thought and place it into the Pensieve. Gandalf the Grey's face swirled around other stray thoughts. He looked exactly the same.

For Dumbledore knew Gandalf, although it had taken the latter much convincing before he believed Dumbledore's identity. Dumbledore was one of the five Maia, along with Saruman, Gandalf and Radagast. He, along with none other than Gellert Grindelwald, were the two blue wizards who, as Gandalf told him the story went, 'went east and were never seen again'.

Well, Dumbledore explained that rather simply. He and Grindelwald had indeed 'gone east' and come across the very same thing that the Fellowship had; a portal, connecting Middle-earth with this world. Dumbledore and Grindelwald had decided to remain in this world and set up fake family histories for themselves. Soon, Grindelwald explored the magic of this world too deeply and dived into the dark. Dumbledore had been grieved when he realised he had to destroy his friend, but he had done so for the safety of this world.

Dumbledore also explained to Gandalf that time passed much more slowly here than in Middle-earth; while there it had been thousands of years, here it had been roughly seventy.

No, all that was easy enough. What really puzzled and worried Dumbledore were two things; first, how were the Fellowship going to return to Middle-earth, as the portals only lasted a few hours, and secondly, Dumbledore questioned whether he himself should return to aid in the fight that was centred around the poor little hobbit, Frodo Baggins.

As such, the great Headmaster of Hogwarts stayed up into the wee hours of the morning, wondering what he should do. That alone frustrated him, as he prided himself on having a calm approach to almost anything, and the fear and concern that filled him that night was a most unusual feeling. He would discuss things further with Gandalf in the morning.

**I hope I got all of the characters' personalities right, especially Dumbledore as I found him quite difficult to write as. Thank you to everyone who has supported, reviewed and followed this story. Next chapter we get into some of the mischief-making. Don't forget to PM me any ideas regarding pranks or character interactions. Thanks to Queen Ryuu for the idea of Legolas and the House-elves! Also thanks to LOTCR (guest) for reviewing, your review made me smile. No, they won't get sorted unfortunately, but good idea! Also, I am really enjoying being a Ringer, I'm fully hooked! I even walk around with an old ring that I put on a chain around my neck! Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I had a busy day full of doctor's appointments and whatnot. But here now is Chapter 4 and we get into some of the fun now. While the background to this story is going to be pranks and fun, I've decided to also bring in the rest of the characters and their interactions with various aspects of Hogwarts, so we'll just see how it all plays out, shall we? ^_^**

The next day saw almost everyone waking later than normal; even the students, having stayed up late discussing the visitors. Legolas and Gimli met Hermione by the Great Hall as promised, Harry and Frodo continued from where they had left off last night – this time the topic was Quidditch – and Gandalf and the humans were summoned to Dumbledore's office.

Merry and Pippin noticed none of this. They followed Fred and George, rather like a pair of puppies, as the twins led to the 'Owlery', where they were going to demonstrate both how people communicated in this world and also the extent they would go for a prank.

Fred and George complained frequently along the walk that the Owlery was so far away, but the hobbits only scoffed; both would have agreed with them a few months ago, but by now they had walked such distances that the trip to the Owlery was quite inconsequential.

Once there, they realised that the name of the place was quite accurate; it was full of owls.

"This is how letters and other mail is sent." Fred explained, picking a large barn owl seemingly at random. "We attach them to the owl's leg and they read the address and know where to go."

"Owls can read?" Merry asked blankly. He knew that owls were well regarded, especially among the Elves according to Legolas, but for them to be intelligent enough to read?

Fred nodded. "Every owl that is to be used by wizards has a spell cast over them that implants knowledge of addresses and reading ability in their minds. As such, an owl can find pretty much anywhere if given a specific address. For example, all I need to do is attach this address," he held up a piece of paper, "to this parcel and send the owl on its way."

Merry and Pippin gathered closer to read the address.

_Percy Weasley_

_Junior Assistant to the Minister for Magic_

_Ministry of Magic_

_London_

"Weasley." Pippin noted. "Is he your father?"

Fred and George sniggered. "Brother. Git."

The hobbits presumed that the twins didn't like their older brother, so they asked, "What's in the parcel?"

"Oh…just a sample of some dragon dung fertilizer. He thinks it's coming from some foreign wizard company, you know, so we just fill his desk with it every few weeks." George grinned gleefully.

Pippin chuckled, but Merry was concerned, "But…surely that's a bit harsh for your brother?"

George shook his head. "Perce's been taking the side of the Minister. You remember what I told you last night about Umbridge and the Ministry? Well, Percy is agreeing with them."

"Oh." Merry said, understanding instantly. "Why?"

"Cause he's a git." Fred said, as if that explained everything.

"Now, little ones," George began after the owl had flown off. The hobbits glared at the nickname, but George just laughed. "Time to see what you're made of. We're going to give you this."

From a pocket he pulled a box wrapped in some sort of shiny red material that the hobbits discovered was paper. Upon opening the box, they saw what they managed to identify – from seeing similar things in Rivendell – as chocolates.

"And you're going to convince Filch that it's a gift from you and the rest of the fellowship."

"I don't get it." Pippin said. "Where's the fun in that?"

George grinned. "These are made of Fever Fudge. They make you ill and give you these massive puss-filled boils. You see, Filch has been trying to catch us and the rest of our group. Dumbledore's Army was formed so that the students could actually learn how to magically defend themselves, seeing as how Umbridge isn't teaching us anything, and he is constantly trying to catch us out. But, with a few of these, he'll be out of action for a bit and we can actually come to and from our secret meeting area in peace."

Now it was Merry and Pippin's turn to grin. On the way back down the long staircase of the Owlery, they discussed the method in which they would convince the caretaker to take the chocolates.

"We'll say they're a special Elvish delicacy." Merry said.

"And that, in hobbit culture, the cleaner is given a lot of regard, so that's why we're giving them to him." Pippin added gleefully.

"And don't forget to add in that they're from everyone, not just us, cause he might have seen us with Fred and George." Merry continued.

"Good thinking!" Pippin agreed. Both hobbits were unaware that the twins themselves were following them a few paces back, listening in mild admiration.

They made their way back to the castle, heading for the Great Hall. Despite their new mission, neither Merry or Pippin wanted to miss breakfast, after all. With a bit of direction by the twins, they managed to find their way.

Pippin couldn't believe their luck when he spotted Filch himself sweeping up a patch of dust almost invisible to the naked eye just outside the Great Hall doors. He nudged Merry to get his attention.

"Let's do it now." He hissed. His cousin nodded.

They strolled over towards the doors, trying to look innocent. Then they acted as if they had just spotted Filch for the first time.

"Oh, Mr Filch, is it?" Pippin asked brightly, being sure to look rather shy as he stared up at the caretaker.

Filch frowned. "Yes. I'm busy at the moment. Shouldn't you be with the others inside the Great Hall?"

Pippin forced himself not to react to the shock that his cuteness wasn't doing its normal trick. Merry took up the fight.

"We are going in now, sir. But we wanted to give you these, first." He held up the box. "They are a special delicacy where we come from and are always given to the host."

Filch's dark look softened briefly. "Well…those then should really go to the Headmaster." He said half-heartedly.

"Oh no!" Pippin cried. "In our culture, it is the cleaner who deserves respect. These are from all of us, to you."

That did it. Filch took the box, gazing at them as one would gaze at a diamond. Merry and Pippin waited for a thank you, but when they didn't get one they decided to head back into the Great Hall. It was then that they spotted Frodo, Sam and Harry.

* * *

Sam knew that by the time he found his way back down the many flights of stairs to the Great Hall, breakfast would be over (well…first breakfast, apparently there was no second breakfast here, but there was so much food at each meal that it didn't matter to the hobbits). In order to counteract this problem, he followed Frodo and the black-haired boy. The two had begun talking once again the second they came down to the common room, with barely a 'good morning' to Sam..

For once, Sam didn't mind being ignored by his master, if it meant that Frodo could be happy. And, in truth, he could see the difference already. The current topic of discussion was something called Quidditch. From what Sam could discern without eavesdropping – he didn't want to be caught doing that again – it was some sort of sport. The boy, whose name Sam realised was Harry, was trying to convince Frodo to give it a go.

Sam quickly realised why Frodo was hesitant and decided to step in.

"Us hobbits don't do well with heights, Mr Harry." He explained. "Cause we're so small, being up high is just a bit too daunting, isn't that right, Mr Frodo?"

Frodo nodded, looking rather relieved that he hadn't had to explain it himself. "We are all afraid of heights, unfortunately. So, sorry Harry, but I won't be getting on a broom."

"What if you just hover?" Harry pressed. Sam got the distinct impression that he was very passionate about this Quidditch. "And – Sam, was it? – don't call me 'Mr'. Just Harry."

Sam reddened slightly. "Aw, that wouldn't be right, sir. You see, Mr Frodo might not have explained, but I'm just a gardener."

"And no 'sirs' either! You remind me of Dobby!" Harry snapped, ignoring what Sam said.

Sam just stared, but his jaw dropped even more when Frodo stopped and turned to look at him, blue eyes thoughtful as though he had just realised something.

"Actually, Sam, I'd quite like it if you stopped calling me 'Mr' as well. You may be my gardener, but you are also much more. You're my best friend, and best friends aren't so formal with each other."

Sam felt a lump in his throat as Frodo smiled softly, the look on his face that of such genuine kindness that Sam was forced to blink away a tear. But…Frodo was his master. He couldn't…

"I'm sorry," he said, "But you've always been 'Mr Frodo' to me. It just…wouldn't feel right if I just called you 'Frodo'."

Frodo looked down and sighed. "Well, alright. But call me that because you want to, not because you feel you have to."

Sam also sighed in relief that Frodo hadn't pressed the issue.

"You didn't answer my question." Harry reminded him.

Frodo had the look of someone who thought he got away with something, but didn't. Sam fought back a laugh; the Took-ish side of Frodo came out rarely, but whenever it did, it was quite a sight.

"Well…alright. I will try it."

"Try what, cousin?"

Pippin suddenly popped up out of nowhere and threw his arm around Frodo's shoulders jovially, grinning from ear to ear. "Whatever it is, I want a go!"

Frodo smiled and playfully pushed Pippin off. "You'll get in enough trouble just by touching a broom, but you can watch."

"Watch what?"

Pippin's other half – for, really, the two were more brothers than cousins – joined the questioning match, in which poor Frodo and Harry were in the centre. Sam couldn't hide his chuckle now as hobbit and human alike were instantly bombarded with queries from both Brandybuck and Took.

Shaking his head at the shenanigans, and keeping an eye on them in case they started to annoy Frodo too much, Sam took a seat at one of the tables.

**I'm quite happy with my Sam-voice. I hope it came out well to everyone else as well. He he, next chapter will be from Hermione's pov and will show the results of the prank and involve everyone's favourite House-elf! Please don't forget to review and PM me ideas! Thanks again to LOTCR for reviewing. In response, hmm...Legolas does have elf-senses (do I hear a "what do your elf-eyes see?" quote?) but I think they'll find a way to get around it, lol.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, sorry I didn't update yesterday. I just had to do a bit of research as it's been a while since I've read Order of the Phoenix and I kinda forgot what Dobby's role in the book was! Anyway, all good now. I'd like to say a huge thank you to all who have read, followed and favourite this story! BUT...please excuse me while I go on a tiny rant.**

**WHY has no-one reviewed? If you like the story enough to follow it, review it, please. It makes me want to write more, honestly! Even if you don't have any ideas for future chapters, say what parts you liked, or didn't like. Say something, lol. I just like to know that people enjoy each chapter before I upload a new one. I've noticed this a lot with stories, not just mine. E.g. a 20 chapter story might only have 15 reviews, even though the story is brilliant. Reviews are how we show our appreciation for stories even more than the 'favourite and follow' button, although that is really great too. **

**Anyway, sorry about that ^_^ and don't think I don't appreciate the favourites and stuff, because I really really do! I just like hearing from you as well. Ok, on with the chapter.**

Hermione was absolutely delighted when Legolas and Gimli, true to their word, met her at the doors to the Great Hall that morning.

She had gotten up early that morning and spent the time in the library, poring over any book that might mention Elves or Dwarves, but had come up empty-handed. They truly did not exist, except for in fairy-tales.

Due to this, she had amassed another load of questions for the two, especially for Legolas. She wondered if the Elf could use some sort of magic and, if so, whether it was possible to be taught. It would surely help in the struggle against Voldemort. She also wanted to invite them both to the next DA meeting the following afternoon, and both had been quite interested in seeing some House-elves. Dobby and Winky – well, maybe not Winky, she amended in her mind – would be delighted to meet them.

"Good morning." She said brightly as Elf and Dwarf approached her. The previous night, she had sensed some animosity between the two, yet they had sat together and now approached her from the same direction.

"Morning, Miss Granger." They chorused. Legolas' voice was soft and respectful, while Gimli's, though gruff, was somehow warm and friendly.

"You can call me Hermione." She told them, smiling. "Well…shall we go inside and sit down?"

The two nodded and all three quickly found spare seats close to the staff table. Legolas and Gimli nodded to the hobbits, scattered across the table, as they passed. Hermione wanted to find out more about them, as well, but knew that she couldn't learn everything at once, as much as she wanted to.

As they talked and mingled through breakfast, Hermione was disappointed to discover that Legolas' magical abilities stopped at communication with nature. According to him, 'magic' was a rather vague term when it came to the Elves anyway but the best answer Hermione could get was that he did not have any abilities comparable to Gandalf.

"What about you?" Legolas asked.

Gimli leaned forwards. "Yes, Miss…er…Hermione, what sort of magic is yours?"

Hermione felt her face redden slightly. "Well, um, lots of things, really. There's a spell for almost anything, whether it's novelty things like," she pointed her wand at her flagon of pumpkin juice and whispered "_assumpsere"_. The orange liquid promptly turned sky blue. Gimli and Legolas' eyes widened, with the latter picking up the cup to see if there was any trickery. "All the way up to transforming yourself into an animal, or even, well, killing someone."

"You can turn yourself into an animal?" Legolas asked eagerly, passing the cup to Gimli to inspect.

"_I_ can't." Hermione corrected. "But there are many who can. Harry's –" she lowered her voice suddenly, remembering just in time. "Harry's godfather can become a dog." Her voice went back to normal. "And Professor McGonagall often greets her class by waiting on her desk as a cat and transforming back into a human."

"That would be quite a sight." Gimli commented. "I'll have to see that one day."

"I'm sure she will oblige, although she does get an awful lot of requests, especially by first years." Hermione remembered from her own first year. She had been the only one not to bother poor Professor McGonagall more than once.

A commotion suddenly broke out at their end of the table. People were laughing and pointing at the back corner of the Hall. Filch, a box of what Hermione instantly suspected was Fever Fudge clutched weakly in his hand, had sprouted bright red boils all over his face and hands. He was wheezing even more than normal and coughing an awful lot, too. The skin that wasn't sporting the boils was sickly pale.

As Hermione watched, half-amused, half-concerned for the obvious culprits, Filch slowly made his way over to the Gryffindor table and staggered past her. As suspected, he was heading for Fred and George.

Wait…no! He instead stopped before the two younger hobbits, who were sitting next to Ron's brothers.

"Right – _cough – _what did you two – _cough –_ rats put in those chocolates!" he demanded, clawed hands reaching out as though itching to grab them by their necks. Hermione suspected he didn't only because other teachers were present.

She had to give the hobbits credit; their faces were those of complete innocence, although various muscles twitched as they clearly fought not to laugh.

""Nothing other than their normal ingredients, Mr Filch." The younger one, Pippin, said lightly. "I reckon you must be allergic to something."

"Yeah, we're really sorry, sir, we wouldn't have given it to you otherwise." Merry added, doing a perfect impression of someone who was worried that the had accidentally harmed someone else. Hermione quickly ducked down behind Gimli to hide the snort of laughter that she couldn't hide. Not that she approved of such behaviour, but she did find it amusing that the two hobbits could lie as smoothly, if not smoother, than Fred and George themselves.

When she risked looking up again, Filch had just overcome another bout of coughing and was glaring at the hobbits. As she watched, their puppy-dog expressions, especially Pippin's, did its job. Or maybe Filch just couldn't be bothered while he was feeling the effects of the Fudge. Either way, he scoffed and shuffled off towards the doors.

As soon as he had vanished, most of the Great Hall erupted into laughter. Umbridge's face was livid, her lips pursed tight, eyes boring into the two hobbits.

Hermione got up and, after telling Gimli and Legolas to wait, strode down to where they were sitting and being clapped on the back and congratulated by both students and the other two hobbits.

"That was very foolish!" she snapped, more directing the admonishment at the Weasley twins. "Umbridge is already against having the newcomers stay in the castle, why are you encouraging them to give her more reasons to hate them!"

"It was just a bit of fun, Hermione." Fred laughed. "It's not like she can take points or give them detention!"

"Not yet." Hermione agreed shortly. "But she can pass another Educational Decree that would allow her to. Be careful!"

She could see that her words fazed neither hobbit nor student, so with a huff she went back to the Elf and Dwarf.

"Right." She said, rather harsher than normally. "Are you coming to see the House-elves, then?"

Legolas raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment, other than to say, "Yes, but only if you want to show us, Hermione."

She quickly remembered herself. "Yes…of course, Legolas, forgive my rudeness. It's just…those two!" she indicated Fred and George. "Don't let them be a bad influence on Merry and Pippin."

"I think it'd be the other way around." Gimli said. "I've only known them a matter of weeks, but it's clear that on their own, they can cause more trouble than the most tricksy Elf, no offence Legolas. Together, why, they're a force of nature!"

"Hmm." Hermione muttered, foreseeing with far more accuracy than Professor Trelawney the trouble that was on its way. "Anyway, let's get going." The three of them stood up and headed back down the Hall. As they passed the group of Weasleys, hobbits and Harry, she said, "We're going to see Dobby, any of you want to come?"

It turned out they all did, so fifteen minutes later the eleven of them found themselves standing outside the fruit portrait on the fifth floor. Hermione reached out and tickled the pear and, as usual, it swung open.

She led the way inside and was instantly greeted by about twenty elves, welcoming "Miss Granger" back to the kitchens. However, they all took a step back when everyone else entered.

"We had heard of the newcomers, sirs and miss." One elf squeaked. "But we did not know there were quite so many. Food must be brought! Are you all hungry?"

Pippin squeezed his way past Gimli and said delightedly, "We're hobbits, of course we're hungry!"

The elf beamed and hurried off, firing orders.

"These…are elves?" Legolas's voice was half-amused, half-shocked. "They look more like goblins."

"Oh no." George said swiftly. "Goblins are not nearly as nice as House-elves!"

"Where's Dobby?" Hermione asked one of the elves, declining to voice her opinions on the way they were being served.

"Dobby is here, miss!"

The little elf appeared suddenly and Hermione's eyes widened as she realised that Harry had not exaggerated; he literally was wearing every hat, sock and scarf she had knitted. It looked quite amusing, but she suspected the reason behind it was that none of the others would wear anything.

"Harry Potter!" Dobby crowed happily, going and grabbing Harry's hand, shaking it vigorously. "And all three Mister Weasleys!" Then he spotted Gimli, Legolas and the hobbits. If possible, his huge eyes widened even more. "Dobby is honoured to be meeting the guests that Professor Dumbledore spoke so highly of." He bowed low to the ground.

Legolas got onto his knees so as to be closer to his height. The hobbits didn't have to do this, of course, as they were almost identical in height. Only Frodo was a bit taller.

"It is an honour to meet you, little elf." Legolas said. "I, too, am called an Elf and, though I believe there is a lot that separates us, by our common names we can become friends. My name is Legolas."

Dobby grinned and shook Legolas' hand. "Dobby thinks so too, Mister Legolas!"

Hermione noticed Frodo looking around in mild bewilderment as various elves arrived with trays of sweets. Almost hesitantly, he picked up an éclair and took a bite. A smile lit his face up and he invited the other three to try one as well.

Hermione chuckled to herself. The House-elves surrounded the hobbits with the platters and Hermione was struck by the sight. Both were clearly enjoying themselves, even as Dobby and Legolas got into conversation about 'elves'. Gimli just stood back and surveyed the scene, while Ron moved to join the hobbits in the 'feast'. She shook her head. How could Ron be hungry just after breakfast? If she was perfectly honest with herself, she couldn't understand how the hobbits could fit that much food inside them either, small as they were.

With a sigh, she went looking for Winky.

**Dobby is too cute! I thought the hobbits were taller than House-elves, before I looked it up and realised that Dobby's 3'6 anyway. Next up we're going to separate the group again and explore more of the castle. Don't forget to review and PM me any ideas! See ya ^_^**


	6. Chapter 6

**^_^ A big** **thank you to the reviewers (the guests I will respond to after the chapter). It really does mean a lot. A bit of a shorter chapter this time, but only because there wasn't much more I could add without it becoming really long (by going into another character). I hope you like this as much as I liked writing it.**

Half an hour later, the Fellowship and students left the kitchens and mingled in front of the painting, wondering what to do next.

Pippin wanted to go exploring and Merry readily agreed. When Fred and George offered to take them on a tour of the castle, however, Pippin flat out refused.

"We want to see the castle with our own eyes." He said. "Get lost, come across stuff you wouldn't see otherwise. It's more fun that way."

The twins shared an understanding look, grinning. "Understood, little one."

"Will you stop calling me that!" Pippin gasped, only half-joking. "I'm the tallest Took tween!"

"Well, there aren't any Tooks here, so you are the littlest of the little ones." George said, as though that was the end of it.

Pippin glowered, but Merry stepped in before he could reply. "Frodo, want to come with us?"

"Actually, I would." His cousin said brightly. "This castle fascinates me. I should very much like to see more of it. And I know it'll never be boring when in your company."

To Pippin's further annoyance, Frodo reached out and ruffled his hair before putting his arm around his shoulder. Pippin pushed him off, while the others just watched with expressions of amusement.

"Honestly," Sam sighed to no-one in particular. "It sure makes me happy to see Mr Frodo relaxed, but I can't help but be concerned upon remembering the stories I would hear of him as a young hobbit, especially with the bad influence of a certain Brandybuck."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Frodo?"

Sam nodded solemnly. "Of course, that was before…well, never mind."

Harry stared at Sam, wondering what he was going to say. However, he did catch Frodo giving Sam an appreciative look.

It was decided that only Frodo would accompany Merry and Pippin on their exploration venture. Gimli decided that he would go and locate the Men and Gandalf, so Harry opted to lead him to Dumbledore's office. Legolas, too, wanted to explore but decided to head outside. He said that the cold stone of the castle was making him slightly uncomfortable.

Hermione had elected to be Legolas' guide and Pippin didn't deny to himself that he was, at least a bit, disappointed. While Ron's reaction and a stern talking-to by Merry the previous night had squashed any dreams of anything between him and Hermione, Pippin saw no reason why he couldn't admire her from afar. He stopped himself just before he sighed in regret as she and the Elf headed off.

Sam commented that he would also like to see the living things of this world, so Ron told him of the Herbology greenhouses, which delighted him greatly. However, he was hesitant to leave his master until Frodo assured him that he would be fine.

"After all, who would hurt me here?"

* * *

Pippin shrieked and fell backwards as the suit of armour he had been examining suddenly _moved_. To his annoyance, Merry and Frodo merely laughed.

"It's not like you would've been any less surprised." He pointed out, getting to his feet and eyeing the suit of armour warily. "Is there someone in there?" He asked it, feeling rather foolish. As if in answer, the suit's visor lifted, revealing absolutely nothing. He decided it must be some sort of magic.

They had covered the Fifth Floor and were heading down to the Fourth. At least, that's what they guessed they were doing, having no idea of the layout of the castle.

Pippin had noticed how light-hearted Frodo had been and wondered if it was because he had finally allowed himself to relax, or whether it was due to the Ring's power being weaker here. Either way, he realised that he could now prank his cousin and not get an 'I'm-older-than-you' talking to.

While Merry and Frodo were discussing the moving paintings, which had startled all three of them several times that morning, Pippin crept up behind the Ring-bearer and leapt up onto his back.

Frodo cried out in surprise as they both fell to the floor, whereupon Pippin started his merciless tickling attack that he hadn't dared unleash on Frodo for so many years.

"No, no! Pip, stop!" Frodo gasped, trying to use his slightly superior strength to get up. "Merry! Help!"

But, as Pippin expected, Merry was offering no help. He was doubled over with laughter at seeing the usually melancholy, quiet Frodo at the mercy of a tweenager.

"Having fun, are we, midgets."

All three froze and turned in the direction of the voice. Pippin released Frodo and stood. Frodo also got to his feet, brushing off his clothes. He seemed to recognise the owner of the voice, for his expression became one of immediate dislike.

"You must be Malfoy."

Pippin was surprised at the coldness in his cousin's voice. He remembered Fred and George mentioning Malfoy and his two lackeys, who stood either side of him, but they hadn't pointed them out. Clearly, Harry or someone else had shown Frodo.

"Why so rude? You should be respectful to your superiors." Malfoy snapped. "What are you anyway?" He then asked, gazing at them with a sneer.

"We're called hobbits." Merry answered curtly. "And, considering the fact that we are all at least twice your age, I think it's you who should speak respectfully to us."

Malfoy's sneer turned into a glower. "Well, let's see who's older once what I put in your cups this morning kicks in. Which should be any minute now…"

The hobbits frowned, not understanding what he was talking about. "Well, Merry and I didn't drink anything this morning." Pippin said triumphantly.

"I did." Frodo murmured, sounding worried. "Sam took a tiny sip and found he didn't like the pumpkin juice, so he gave me his."

The grin was back on Malfoy's face as Merry and Pippin looked at Frodo anxiously. He had suddenly gone even paler than normal.

"Frodo…are you alright?" Merry asked hesitantly.

Frodo shook his head. "No…I feel quite…strange."

His voice was slurred and he looked as though he might pass out. Then, to his and his cousin's amazement, he started shrinking. Well, not just shrinking, but getting younger. As the other two watched, Frodo's face filled out with baby fat, his hair grew a few inches shorter and he shrunk until he was between one-and-a-half and two feet tall.

Frodo had been turned into a toddler.

Everyone just stared for a moment, before Malfoy and his two sidekicks ran for it, laughing their heads off all the way.

Merry and Pippin laughed too, for, although they were angry at what had been done, they couldn't not help but chuckle at the adorably shocked and confused expression on little Frodo's face as he examined himself. His clothes had remained the same size, so they now severely hung off his small frame. Before, the Ring's chain had just been long enough to be tucked under his collar. Now, it hung down to his belly-button.

"G-guess we're finally older and taller than you, cousin!" Pippin gasped between bouts of mirth. The tiny glare that Frodo gave him only heightened his amusement.

Until Frodo started sobbing. Not like a hobbit of his (current) age would, either, all loud and scream-y, but quietly and softly. Tears ran down his cheeks and he sat down, head bowed.

"Why'm I wittle? Why'm I wittle?" He asked them pitifully, confusion plain on his tiny face.

Merry's heart broke and he was instantly reminded of all the times Frodo would comfort him as a child. He bent down and picked Frodo up, holding him close. "Hey, it's alright. We're going to get you back to normal in no time."

"P-pwomise?" Frodo asked hesitatingly, wiping his eyes.

Merry smiled. "Promise." Then he looked up at Pippin. "Let's go find someone we know."

"Yep. Great idea." Pippin agreed, patting little Frodo's curls gently. "Only…one problem."

"What's that, Pip?"

"We're lost!"

The two looked around and realised the truth of that statement; here they were, in an unfamiliar castle, with no idea how to find anyone.

"Uh-oh." Frodo said unhelpfully.

**Two words: cuteness overload! Can't you just picture mini Frodo? So cute! We will find out how he gets back to normal, but next chapter is going to be a bit more serious as we need to see what's going on with the Men and Wizards. And, sneak peek: Frodo and Pippin are going to get Malfoy back for this. Wait and see how!**

**Review replies: LOTCR - No worries with being late, my rant wasn't directed at you ^_^ You'll have to wait and see what's next. Hmm...Dobby will definitely come back into it. We'll see. **

**TooLazyToLogin - Lol, I'm too lazy to log in sometimes, too. I'm glad you 'love' it! I know. All my mum could do while watching LOTR was point out the similarities, but I felt obliged to defend JK Rowling. She's my author idol! Her and Tolkien are equal in my mind. And of course Ginny is gonna come in, and Luna and Neville. Not too sure how and when though, although Neville is in the next chapter. Also, as much as this is AU I also think that it's sort of something that could have happened before Caradhras, so they do eventually have to go back to Middle-earth. So...no magical powers, unfortunately. However, I invite you to write a story where that happens! :) See you next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow, I'm powering on with these chapters. I've got so many ideas for this story because there's just so much that you can DO! Two sets of characters, two worlds collide and all that jazz. It's so incredibly fun writing the interactions between HP and LOTR characters. **

**As said last time, this chapter is a bit more serious only because, as much as this is a humor fic, there is plot as well so I have to introduce that every now and then. And don't worry, we'll get back to mini Frodo next chapter. And thanks for all the support!**

**Enjoy!**

Gandalf paced back and forth around the tables dotted with strange silver instruments that were scattered around Dumbledore's office.

Seated in two seats near the desk were Aragorn and Boromir. The former was listening intently to what Dumbledore himself was saying, while the latter seemed to be off in thought. Gandalf himself, although having accepted that Dumbledore was indeed one of the Blue Maia who had vanished, was now faced with the next issue; how to return to Middle-earth.

"…and so it seems that Gandalf and I would need to combine our two different strains of magic and try to invent a spell to create a portal. Or, we simply wait and see if another will appear." Dumbledore finished, sitting back in his high-backed chair and gazing at them all with his piercing blue eyes.

"We have no guarantee that you will be able to." Boromir pointed out. "These portals sound like they are only created spontaneously, by some act of the Valor."

"And there is also the mystery of why it appeared where and when it did." Aragorn added. "I, for one, do not believe it was mere coincidence."

"I'm inclined to agree with you." Gandalf nodded in Aragorn's direction, ceasing his pacing and leaning on his staff thoughtfully. "However, though time passes at a much slower rate here than in Middle-earth, we cannot stay here for too long. A solution must be found."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I will send owls to the most esteemed spell-weavers I know of in the Wizard World for advice, without revealing too much of our circumstances. Perhaps a type of Portkey could be fashioned."

"Are you implying that these portals aren't the only way to travel to and from Middle-earth?" Gandalf asked.

"I am." Dumbledore nodded. "And it is another way that I will look into. However, until anything more solid can be discussed, I will advise you to continue to enjoy all that Hogwarts has to offer. Tomorrow is a Hogsmeade visit and I think you will all benefit from accompanying the students." He smiled. "Though it pains me to hear of Middle-earth's current circumstances, it is a welcome sight to see familiar faces and races. Especially the dear hobbits."

Gandalf returned the smile. "Yes…'dear' hobbits is true, but they also cause more trouble than they are worth."

Aragorn looked up. "Do not say so, Gandalf. All four hobbits have proven their bravery and dedication to the quest, even young Pippin."

"Do not take me so literally, Aragorn." Gandalf chided. "I am fully aware that if it wasn't for the quirks of each hobbit, our journey would be rather boring indeed."

A knock on the door made all four turn.

"Enter." Dumbledore called.

Gimli came in, slightly out of breath. A teenage boy with jet black hair followed, much less out of breath.

"Bloody stairs!" he groaned, as though talking to himself. "Send me over field after field or down corridor after corridor, but no more stairs." Then he looked up. "Pardon me, gentlemen, but I figured that the rest of us should know what is going on behind closed doors."

"Where is everyone?" Aragorn asked.

"Well, Sam has been taken to the greenhouses, Legolas is somewhere around the grounds, and the other three hobbits are exploring the castle. No telling where exactly they are!" Gimli listed.

Aragorn smiled slightly. "Well, Albus, perhaps you are right. The others, at least, are heeding your wish of relaxing and, shall we say, having fun?"

Dumbledore nodded in agreement to Aragorn, before beckoning to Gimli. "Harry, did you have anything you wished to discuss with me?"

Gandalf noticed that Dumbledore didn't look at the boy directly, but rather pretended to be focusing on something on his desk. He wondered why, although he did guess that this was the famous Harry Potter that Dumbledore had hinted at.

"No, sir." Harry answered, sounding rather put out. He quickly left, and Dumbledore began the task of summarising their talks for Gimli.

* * *

Legolas and Hermione were enjoying themselves during their tour of the grounds. Two intellectuals, two out-door lovers, two people who were so different, yet shared a love of knowledge and solitude.

At least, that's how Hermione saw it. Any students they passed gave them strange looks, but Hermione only glared back and snapped, "You should be helping our guests feel more comfortable, too!"

She was impressed and awed by Legolas' agility and heightened senses for, although she could accomplish the same effects using magic, it was quite incredible for someone to have them naturally. No, she wasn't falling for him, that much she had clearly defined for herself. She didn't have time for nonsense like that, especially when she knew that they were all going to return to Middle-earth at some stage. No, her interest in Legolas was purely academic. In fact, she had the right mind to begin to write a book on Elves.

To her absolute delight, once Hermione explained SPEW, Legolas agreed to sign up. He said that it had pained him to see the House-elves acting as slaves. Dobby, he admired, but he – like Hermione – simply couldn't wrap his head around why the other House-elves couldn't continue working if they wish, but also enjoy the comforts of clothes and holidays.

"You said Dobby has been working here for over a year now, yes?" He asked her at one stage. When she nodded, he continued. "Well, why has he not had an effect on the other House-elves? Surely they could see how much he enjoys his freedom?"

"I've thought the same." Hermione sighed. "I've tried to convince them of that very point, but they are just stuck in their ways. They all think that clothes and payment and holidays are akin to blasphemy when it comes to House-elves. I'm running out of ideas. At least Dumbledore treats them all well, though. The same can't be said for others. Dobby used to belong to the Malfoys. Horrid, horrid they were to him." She didn't wish to elaborate, only too glad that she hadn't seen the results of his self-punishments in as much detail as Harry had.

Legolas nodded understandingly. Then, in an attempt to cheer her up, he asked, "Have you ever used a bow, Hermione?"

Her eyes lit up. "No."

He smiled. "Then let us go and get mine and you can have a go."

* * *

Sam was completely in his element.

He was overwhelmed from the start by the myriad of plants that greeted him when Ron led him into the first greenhouse. From Venomous Tentacula, to Mandrakes, to something which took him ages to pronounce and was called a Mimbulus Mimbletonia. He felt rather like a child in a sweet shop as each new step revealed something new and exciting. He longed to take samples home but knew that by the time he got back to the Shire – he refused to think about if he didn't – they would have died.

He could tell that Ron just didn't appreciate natural life the same way he did, but he did notice that Ron tried to make things exciting for himself. He asked a lot of questions about the Shire and seemed quite put out when Sam told him that red-haired hobbits were almost an impossibility.

He approached the Mimbulus Mimbletonia again, sitting solitarily on the end of one table. He had already learned with some Bubotubors that touching these strange, magical plants could be dangerous and/or unpleasant; he was lucky there was a sink nearby to wash the pus off his hands. This time, being wiser, he grabbed a dead branch off the ground and gently inched it towards the plant.

"No, don't touch it!" came an urgent cry.

Sam pulled back instantly, turning to face the voice's owner. A round-faced boy stood a few metres away, eyes wide and hands reaching towards the stick as though still worried that Sam would ignore the warning.

"Oh, hi, Neville!" Ron said, obviously recognising the boy. "Neville, this is Sam. He's one of the guests. You're called a hobbit, right?" he asked Sam, almost as an afterthought. Sam nodded. "Right. And Sam, this is Neville. I'm sure you'll get along just fine. Neville's got a thing for plants, too."

"Y-you like plants?" Neville asked Sam hesitatingly, coming closer. Sam dropped the stick quickly.

"Well, yessir, I'm a gardener." Sam replied modestly.

"From what my brothers have heard from your friends, you're a bloody good gardener, and a bit more besides." Ron corrected.

Sam went slightly pink and looked down.

"Well…it's the only thing I'm good at; Herbology." Neville said quietly. Ron opened his mouth, but Neville continued. "So, if you want to know anything about any of these plants, just ask me!"

Sam nodded eagerly, glad to find someone else who shared his passion. Ron quickly realised that he would soon lose track of the conversation, so he excused himself and returned to the castle.

The two plant-nerds then spent the next hour discussing the similarities and differences between the flora of Middle-earth and this world. There were quite a lot of similarities when it came to 'normal' plants, but none of the species in the Herbology greenhouses were recognisable to Sam. Neville was more than happy to oblige in explaining about each and every one, in detail, who first grew them, what they are used for, etc.

However, their conversations were cut short as Merry suddenly sprinted in. He stopped, bending over and breathing hard.

"Sam…you've gotta…come…Frodo…"

All thoughts of plants instantly vanished from Sam's mind. "Is he alright?"

"He's fine." Merry said, and to Sam's surprise there was a smile on the Brandybuck's face. "Just…you'll see. They're waiting up on the Fourth Floor because that's where the Hospital Wing is, but Pippin thought you should see…oh, just follow me!"

**I was going to try and write from Legolas' pov in this, but I just can't so I thought, rather than trying and failing, I'll stick to the characters I can do. **

**Next time, we'll see how Frodo will get turned back into his normal self. But don't worry, I'm not skipping his time as a toddler, I'm just not showing it till next time. **

**LOTCR: Thank you once again for your reviews. Mini Frodo is too cute, I know! No, no Gandalf in their method of revenge. No spoilers, hee hee. I pity you, give 'real life' a punch from me ^_^ Oh, and Aria Breuer has taken your idea and is writing a HP/LOTR crossover where Frodo goes to Hogwarts and learns magic. It's really good, check it out!**

**BFN!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I got a bit carried away with this chapter so it's a bit longer than usual, but I'm sure you won't mind ^_^ This is the last chapter of little Frodo *sob* so enjoy! **

The three hobbits had been walking for several minutes now – well, Frodo was riding on Merry's shoulder – and they had not seen hide nor hair of a single student.

"They can't all be outside!" Pippin gasped exasperatedly. "Surely this can't be the only part of the castle with not one person."

"I know, it's ridiculous." Merry agreed. They were good and lost now, and their only hope would be to find someone and ask them if there was a Healing room or something where Frodo's 'condition' could be fixed.

"It's typical. When don't want anyone around, Middle-earth and his mother are there, but when you need someone, everyone's off having fun somewhere else!" Pippin continued, until Merry shushed him upon realising that Frodo was whimpering quietly.

He looked up at the current-toddler. "What's the matter, Frodo?" He asked, feeling rather strange as it was usually the other way around.

"This." Frodo answered, lifting up the Ring from where it had slipped under his too-large shirt. He frowned as his young mind tried to put his thoughts into words. "It's so heavy and it keeps whispewing things. Scawy things. It used to happen when I was big, but I think b'cause I'm wittle, it's scawiew."

Merry pulled his little cousin down into his arms and cuddled him while they walked, Pippin leaning over sympathetically as they both realised truly what Frodo went through while wearing the horrible Ring. Now, and only now, was he innocent enough to reveal his struggles to them.

"It's alright, Frodo. Do you want one of us to take the Ring, only until you're big again?" Pippin asked, although he suspected what the answer would be.

True enough, Frodo shook his head and tightened his grip around the Ring. "No. I have to keep it."

None of them were looking where they were going, so it came as quite a shock when a staircase suddenly appeared. It was a small staircase, luckily, but that didn't mean it hurt any less falling down it.

Merry escaped with only a bruised hip, but instantly he was looking over at the others.

"Frodo? Frodo, are you hurt?" he asked anxiously.

By some incredible act of chance, Frodo had landed on top of Pippin and was completely unharmed.

"I'm fine." He said. "But I think Pip's hurt. He said 'ow'."

He rolled off the other hobbit, who sat back. Merry gasped; Pippin had clearly landed flat on his face and broken his nose, for his whole front from his mouth downwards was covered in blood. Pippin pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gently held it to his nose to prevent any more damage.

Frodo looked even more concerned than Merry, reaching up a tiny hand and placing it over Pippin's. "Are you owkay, Pippin?"

Pippin smiled, though clearly his nose was causing him quite a lot of pain. "I'm alright, Frodo. Just hit my nose that's all. Protecting you!"

Frodo smiled at that and both older hobbits were glad to have put the Ring out of his mind, even temporarily and by accident.

"Oh, hello there! I didn't expect to run into anyone else around here." Came a floaty voice.

Standing a few feet away was a young girl with long, curly, platinum blonde hair. Even though her attention was on them, she had a faraway look, but she smiled warmly.

The hobbits were overjoyed to see someone. They each got to their feet and introduced themselves.

"Nice to meet you." The girl said. "I've wanted to meet you since you arrived, but I didn't want to bother you. I'm Luna Lovegood."

A bell rang in Pippin's head; he thought Fred and George had mentioned her. "Nice to meet you, as well. Um…we're more than a bit lost."

"Where are you looking for?" she asked kindly.

"Is there a healing room?" Pippin asked thickly, his words distorted due to his nose.

"Yes. The Hospital Wing. But I'm afraid you're going to have to go back up those stairs. You must have passed it on the way." Throughout, her voice remained light and airy. It was a pretty sound to listen to. She looked at Frodo, then back up at the others. "You know, I only saw you from afar this morning, but I thought that Frodo was the same size as you. Do you all shrink at certain points of the day, then?"

What a strange thing to think, Pippin wondered. He know knew what the twins meant when they said Luna was 'interesting'.

"No." he laughed. "Draco Malfoy said he put something in Frodo's drink to sort of de-age him. We're just hoping there's an antidote. Although he is very cute." Pippin added, fulfilling his revenge for that morning by ruffling Frodo's hair with the hand that wasn't holding the handkerchief, prompting a glare that would have made him back away if Frodo was at his normal height.

"There will definitely be an antidote and Madam Pomfrey will know it." Luna assured them. "Shall we go now? I will say, I could fix your nose for you, but since you are going to the Hospital Wing anyway you'd better wait."

Merry nodded and they headed back up the stairs, Frodo back on his shoulders. When they reached the doors that led to the Hospital Wing – involving some strange conversations about things called 'Nargles' – Luna left them, saying that she would like to stay and chat but she had promised to meet someone.

Frodo hesitated before going in. "I want Sam here." He said. "Not that I don't like you being here!" He added quickly, seeing Merry and Pippin's hurt looks. "But…he's my best fwiend and…"

But Merry smiled. "Of course, Frodo. Luna!" he called as the girl was about to disappear around a corner. She turned. "How do I get to the greenhouses?"

"Down the stairs and out the first door, you'll be on the Grand Staircase. Go down two floors, turn right as soon as you go through the door and go through the archway and down more stairs. Turn left and just follow that corridor!" she called back. Merry made an effort to remember it and thanked her.

"You two wait here." He said, before running off.

Pippin turned to Frodo. "Sam's going to laugh when he sees you." He murmured.

Frodo chuckled, clearly picturing the expression on Sam's face. "I want him hewe so all fwee of you can help me get Mawfoy back."

Pippin grinned, taking the handkerchief away from his nose. "We'll make a Took out of you yet, cousin!"

* * *

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Merry reappeared with Sam in tow. The latter's eyes turned into dinner plates upon seeing Pippin, covered in blood, and Frodo.

Frodo grinned and waved at Sam, and Pippin got the impression that he was enjoying the look on his gardener-slash-best-friend's face.

Sam opened and closed his mouth several times before he could get any words out. "Wh…wha…how…Mr Frodo, what happened to ya?"

"A student called Mawfoy put something in my dwink to make me wittle." Frodo explained as Sam approached and kneeled down in front of him.

Sam frowned. "Someone did this to you?" he looked up at Merry. "We should tell Professor Dumbledore, or Gandalf."

"No need for that!" Merry scoffed. "The Weasley twins told me all about Malfoy. We can get him back on our own. In fact, that's what Frodo wants us to do. Let's get him back to normal, and then we'll talk about it."

Sam then turned his frown upon Frodo. "You are letting them influence you, if what Merry says is true. The Mr Frodo I know would tell someone rather than try to get revenge."

Frodo clearly realised, in his current state, what would convince Sam to help him. He gave him his best puppy-dog, big eyed, pleading look. "Aw, but Sam, I wanted you to hewp me."

Sam tried to resist it, but in the end he shook his head and chuckled. "I can't say 'no' to you under normal circumstances, how do you expect me to say 'no' now?"

The other three laughed and they entered the Hospital Wing together. A woman instantly came bustling towards them. They presumed this was the Madam Pomfrey that Luna had mentioned.

"Hello, little guests, what trouble brings you here?" She asked. Her tone of voice was a mixture between the kind nature you would expect from someone in the medical field, and the brisk exasperation of someone who had seen too many injuries born from simple stupidity.

"Well, my nose…" Pippin began, but was cut off by Sam.

"Mr Frodo here needs to be, well, aged up again. He was turned this young by some sort of potion."

Madam Pomfrey nodded, taking Frodo by the shoulder and leading him over to one of the beds, where she instructed him to sit down.

"I've learned not to ask questions when things like this occur." She muttered, almost to herself. "It'll only irk me. Now, you said you've taken a De-Aging Potion, that correct?"

Frodo hadn't actually said so, but he murmured, "I think so. Mawfoy didn't say what it was."

Madam Pomfrey's eyebrows rose at the name, but didn't comment. "Well, that's the most likely thing, at any rate." She rummaged in a cupboard and pulled out an opaque blue bottle and a small beaker. Then she looked up at Pippin and produced a wand from a pocket. "_Episky_!" she said sharply, pointing the wand at Pippin's nose. There was a cricking noise and Pippin winced, but then his expression cleared.

He gingerly moved his nose around. "Hey, it's completely fixed!"

"Of course it is." Madam Pomfrey said distractedly, now measuring out drops of the liquid from the blue bottle. "This concoction adds one year of age per drop. I need to know how many years to add. How old are you currently?" she asked Frodo.

"Five." He answered immediately.

She frowned. "You don't look 'five'. You look more like a three-year-old."

Merry quickly interjected. "We're hobbits, ma'am, and hobbits grow about half as fast as Men."

"So how old was he before?"

"Fifty."

Madam Pomfrey mouthed the word, before shaking her head and obligingly measuring out fourty-five drops of the liquid. "Well, it's your loss if you are trying to pull the wool over my eyes. Here."

Frodo gulped the potion down at once, making a face as he swallowed. "That tastes awful!" he cried.

"Of course it does. Haven't you learnt yet that medicine never tastes nice." Madam Pomfrey sighed.

Frodo suddenly gasped and his eyes glazed over as the potion took effect. The other three hobbits watched in awe as, in the space of half a minute, Frodo grew back into his usual self – including the fact that he still looked thirty-three.

Blinking several times, Frodo looked around at them all. "Well…that was without doubt the strangest experience I have ever had."

There were cries of joy from all to see him back to normal. They each thanked Madam Pomfrey and headed back out of the Hospital Wing. Frodo stumbled a bit at first, but got used to his size again quite quickly.

"You have to admit, though…" Merry said wistfully as they stood in the corridor once more. "You were awfully cute."

This time, Frodo's glare had the effect it intended, and Merry shut his mouth and looked away. Frodo then beckoned Pippin and Sam in.

"Alright, time to have some fun. Sam, you need to go outside and find Legolas. Pippin – and Merry, you too – we're going back down to the kitchens. But first, let's go and find Harry."

**Thank you again for all of your support, comments, etc. Oh, before I forget, I mentioned last chapter to LOTCR that Aria Breuer has written a HP/LOTR crossover. I'd just like to ask fans of this story to go and read hers as well, because it's very well written and a brilliant story. Credit, of course, to LOTCR for the idea, but Aria Breuer has brought it to life :) LOTCR: *grabs back my mini Frodo* Lol, your reviews crack me up. Hmm...Boromir and Draco...why specifically Boromir? If there's a good enough reason, I'll put it in ^_^ And yeah, Hermione's definitely going to be very impressed, but there's going to be no romance in this story. **

**Ok, bye for now everyone!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, sorry I didn't update yesterday, my computer is being an absolute pain. Before I forget, the crossover story that Aria Breuer is writing is called The Rival Houses. Once again thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favourite, etc this story. Now we see what Frodo had planned for Malfoy and the fulfilment of his promise to get on a broom ^_^ Enjoy!**

Hermione could only watch in awe as Legolas shot arrow after arrow incredible distances and with incredible accuracy. They were standing in the outskirts of the Forest and, though he avoided actually hitting the trees themselves, Legolas would put an arrow through any leaf Hermione would diligently point out.

However, the same could not be said when the bow was placed in her hands. Despite a constant stream of instructions and corrections from Legolas, Hermione was constantly unable to get an arrow any further than a few feet away from her, to her frustration.

Of course, Hermione was an intelligent girl so she knew she couldn't be perfect at everything, but it still annoyed her when she came across something that she simply _could not do_.

"It's not you." Legolas said in an attempt to comfort her. "It takes hundreds of years to gain any reputable skill with a bow."

"Well, we mortals do not have that sort of time on our hands." Hermione laughed.

"Hermione! Legolas!"

Both turned around to see all four hobbits and Harry sprinting down the hill – and nearly falling over in the process – towards them.

"Ah, nice to see you survived without being chaperoned." Legolas commented dryly, smiling slightly at Merry and Pippin in particular.

"Yes, and boy have we got a story to tell…hang on, what do you mean chaperoned?" Merry demanded, giving Legolas a glare to rival some of Frodo's.

Legolas shrugged, if of course, the graceful, Elvish movement of his shoulders could be called a shrug. "I've spoken with Aragorn. He tells me he had quite the task of keeping all of you out of trouble, and, as we know, that nearly failed." He cast a sympathetic look in Frodo's direction.

Hermione was barely paying attention to this exchange, because she had seen what Harry was holding in his hands. "What do you intend to do with that?"

Harry smiled slightly. "Well, I'll let Frodo and the others explain what happened first. Then I'll tell you our, well, Frodo's, plan."

Hermione strongly resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The Invisibility Cloak meant mischief and she didn't know if she wanted to be involved in it at the moment. She listened intently as Merry and Pippin, with the occasional interruption from Frodo, told of what Malfoy had done. It was then that she understood the reason for action, but did not, however, endorse it.

"That's completely out of order, I agree." She began hesitantly. "However, don't forget, Malfoy will run straight to Umbridge if any of you, especially you, Harry, do anything."

They all nodded. "That's why we need you, Legolas." Frodo said.

"Why me?" The Elf asked.

"Because we want to get it done now and we don't know where the others are." Pippin answered.

Legolas nodded his agreement to his participation, which they were surprised at as they hadn't told him what it was yet. Hermione listened nervously, anxious to point out any flaw that would alert a certain toad-woman.

"Now, listen up…" Frodo began.

* * *

Roughly an hour later, everything was set up. Frodo couldn't believe their luck when they found out – via Harry under the Invisibility Cloak – that Malfoy had a detention with Professor McGonagall that day after lunch. So, as they saw him walk down the corridor on the outskirts of the Transfiguration Courtyard, Legolas approached and struck up a conversation.

"I hear that Slytherin House is somewhat superior to the other three." Legolas began, as rehearsed. It had been Harry's idea to play on Malfoy's House-proudness.

"Yes. It is." Malfoy responded smugly, looking absolutely delighted that Legolas seemed to be showing interest. "You see, the other Houses all accept the riff-raff of Wizarding society. Namely, Muggle-borns…"

"And what, if I may ask, makes Muggle-borns riff-raff?" Legolas asked, stopping as though to better concentrate on the conversation.

Meanwhile, Harry, Hermione and Frodo were situated just inside the Transfiguration Courtyard, under the Cloak. Harry and Hermione had cast the _Wingardium Leviosa_ spell upon a barrel that currently hovered several feet above Malfoy's head. Hermione had also rendered the barrel invisible.

Merry, Sam and Pippin were grouped a little way away in faux conversation themselves, although they kept shooting glances at the two blondes standing in the corridor.

"Well," Malfoy began to answer Legolas' question, when, at Frodo's cue, Hermione and Harry manipulated the hovering Charm to turn the barrel upside-down.

Twenty litres of pure, sticky, golden honey appeared seemingly out of nowhere and oozed down onto the unsuspecting Slytherin, coating him from slimy head to toe. Legolas nimbly jumped backwards out of range and, faster and more silently than any Man, sprinted across the Courtyard and out of sight.

Merry and Pippin burst into laughter, pointing in glee at Malfoy and making sure to draw every other student's attention to the cursing and spluttering Slytherin. Hermione quickly Transfigured the still invisible barrel into a piece of cork, which she grabbed from the air and stuffed into her pocket.

Then, still under the Cloak, they ran, the other three hobbits hot on their heels. The second they knew they were out of earshot, Harry pulled the Cloak off and stuffed it into his bag.

Unable to hold it in any longer, they all collapsed into a fit of uncontrolled laughter. Even Hermione and Sam, who were the most sensible ones of the group, couldn't help but see the hilarity of what they had just accomplished. And the best part was, Malfoy had no way of knowing who the culprits were as he was fully aware that Legolas was not a Wizard.

"D-did you see his face?" Pippin gasped, doubled over with the force of his mirth.

Merry nodded gleefully. "You'd think we'd dumped a load of horse manure onto him."

"Let's not forget, this'll make him late for McGonagall, so Slytherin will probably lose a few points." Harry added. "Well done, Frodo. Brilliant idea."

Frodo himself was trying very hard to maintain some semblance of maturity. After all, he was fifty years old, prior owner of Bag End, Ring-bear, Middle-earth's only hope…

"It was, wasn't it, if I do say so myself." His impish grin matched any Fred and George could muster. Hogwarts was having an interesting and positive effect on Frodo Baggins and, for the moment, all thoughts of returning to Middle-earth and the quest were far at the back of his mind. Though the Ring still hung heavily around his neck and its dark voice whispered in his ears during moments of silence, Frodo finally felt as though it wasn't controlling him.

A bell tolled.

Harry's eyes went wide. "I'm late for Quidditch practice!"

Without another word, he tore off down the corridor.

Hermione sighed and shook her head. "Honestly, you'd think Quidditch was more important than opposing Voldemort. Come on, let's go head down to the pitch."

Frodo suddenly remembered what he had promised Harry that morning, and a part of him wished that he had thought to sneak the Invisibility Cloak out of Harry's bag as he ran.

However, there was no backing out now, so he dutifully followed the others as they tracked made their way to the Quidditch pitch. They found the Gryffindor team already in the air. Hermione pointed out the players to the hobbits as they settled in the stands to watch, with Frodo explaining each position to the other three as Harry had already briefed him on basic Quidditch knowledge that morning. Ron was the Keeper, Fred and George the two Beaters, Harry the Seeker, and Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson were the three Chasers. Angelina was the current Captain.

They were surprised to find the rest of the Fellowship had also turned up to watch the practice. Legolas seemed very keen on the concept, his eyes flitting from one flying figure to the next, studying their movements meticulously. Gimli, too, seemed quite fascinated, although when asked he assured them that "Dwarves don't fly".

The hobbits instantly bombarded Aragorn, Boromir and Gandalf with questions as to what they had been doing all day but, to their frustration, the Men and Wizard shooed them off with vague answers and said that they would explain everything later.

Once the practice was over, Harry landed and called Frodo down to the pitch after a brief word with Angelina. Frodo seriously considered putting on the Ring just to escape, but quickly dismissed the idea. Besides, he didn't even know if the Ring would turn him invisible while he wasn't in Middle-earth.

Sam followed, as did, to his surprise, Legolas. The Elf confessed that he would like to see if he could fly.

"I'm sure that Harry will let you, and I'm sure you will be better than me." Frodo muttered. Legolas didn't respond.

"Alright, Frodo, well…I guess it's pretty self-explanatory." Harry said as they reached him. He held out his own broom. "Here, use mine. It's less likely to do anything unexpected than if you used one of the school brooms." He then noticed Legolas. "You want to try as well? Ok, well let Frodo go first."

Taking a deep breath, Frodo took the broom and quickly realised that, not including his instinctual fear of heights, his biggest problem was the size of the broom. Yes, he could get his hand around it, but he would not be able to get any sort of balance. He said so to Harry, who understood and handed the broom to Legolas.

"Angelina, would you be able to get one of the first-year brooms? They're more Frodo's size." He called. Angelina, Frodo could see, was trying not to laugh as she headed off.

Strangely, that made him more determined to succeed, so when she returned with another broom, which Frodo was glad to see was significantly smaller, he followed Harry's instructions without hesitation and mounted the broom.

"Good, now kick off from the ground. Don't worry, I'll grab the broom if it starts to go higher than a couple of feet." Harry reassured him. Then he became distracted by something, "Wow. Well done, Legolas!"

Frodo looked up to see that Legolas had taken to the air as though he had been flying a broomstick for years, swooping around the goal posts and speeding past them to the other side of the pitch.

"He's a natural." Angelina commented in awe. When Legolas landed, she strode up to him. "Any time we need a back-up player, you're on!"

Legolas seemed surprised, but he agreed to do so if he was available.

Frodo could delay no longer. So, after making sure Harry's attention was on his broom, Frodo kicked off from the ground. Obediently, the broom rose about three feet. Frodo wobbled slightly, but quickly realised that it wasn't half as frightening as he thought it was going to be. However, he could practically feel the anxiety radiating out from Sam, who stood by his side.

"Now, lean forwards a bit to move." Harry's voice startled Frodo, who nearly slid off. Fixing his eyes ahead, rather than down, Frodo did so and the broom inched forwards rather sluggishly.

"And, how shall I get down?" Frodo asked.

He heard Harry chuckle slightly, before telling him how. Once back on solid ground again, Frodo turned to Harry, "Please don't ask me to do that again. I cannot see how you enjoy it so much, but, then again, you are not a hobbit."

Harry grinned and nodded in agreement.

**I know that was a bit of an awkward way to end it, but the chapter was getting too long. Next up we'll have the trip to Hogsmeade and I apologise in advance if there is not actually a Hogsmeade visit at this point in the book, which I know there isn't, but I wanted to put one at this point in this story. **

**LOTCR: I know what you mean ^_^ No, please don't get revenge on me, Frodo had to grow up again, I'm sorry. Hmm, I can see what you mean about Boromir and Draco but I think Boromir wasn't as bad as he was portrayed in the movie. I'm by no stretch a Boromir fangirl, but I don't think he's as bad as you say, but I might put a scene with the two of them in next chapter. :) Romance isn't that bad, I love writing it, it just doesn't fit this story. Lol, I'll see what I can do about battles. And thank you for the cookies ^_^**

**A final note: The geography of Hogwarts in this story is based on the movies rather than the books because I have played the video game versions of the Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince extensively and so know that layout pretty much blindfolded, just in case anyone was wondering. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Wow, ten chapters already. I'm on a roll ^_^ Thanks again for everyone's support! This chapter gets into one of the scarier aspects of Harry Potter. I'm sure you'll agree. I know this story is mostly light-hearted, but I simply couldn't set something in the Harry Potter universe without including this. So, enjoy!**

The next day the Fellowship were delighted to discover was a visit to the Wizard village of Hogsmeade. They were even more delighted when they asked Professor McGonagall – who was conducting the roll call of who was allowed to go – if they could accompany the students.

"Professor Dumbledore has granted all of our guests permission to visit the village." She said briskly, although there was a smile in her eyes. "I hope you enjoy all Hogsmeade has to offer. I'm sure the students will be able to tell you all about it. Move along, now."

As they all joined the students walking down the path that led to the village, Merry and Pippin were ambushed by the Weasley twins.

"What's this we hear about Malfoy getting a load of honey dropped on him?" Fred asked, looking affronted.

"You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?" George added.

Merry and Pippin had deliberately avoided the twins the previous night, knowing that they would be upset at not being involved. "We might have had something to do with it." Merry said vaguely, sharing a grin with Pippin.

The four instantly looked towards Malfoy himself, who was grumbling loudly to anyone who could be bothered to listen that he would make sure the culprit was caught.

"Why didn't you tell us?" the twins chorused, mock-glaring at the hobbits.

"I mean, don't get us wrong, it was bloody brilliant." Fred said, ruffling Merry's hair. Merry pushed him away and smirked.

"How did you do it?"

While they explained about Frodo's idea and how they pulled it off, Frodo himself wandered over to Harry, Ron and Hermione and asked what they were going to do once in Hogsmeade. Sam followed.

"Well, you've got to go to Honeydukes." Ron said instantly, eyes misting up as he spoke. "It's the best sweetshop in the world."

Frodo's own eyes lit up. Sam smiled to himself. As much as Frodo never seemed to eat enough for a hobbit, no-one could put a rein on his master when it came to sweets and puddings. Sam had already noticed Frodo's excitement whenever the tables in the Great Hall would be replaced with the desserts, and now he was looking forward to seeing Frodo's reaction to this Honeydukes.

"Don't forget the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted building in Britain." Hermione added.

"And the Three Broomsticks, and Zonko's Joke shop." Harry continued.

"Where do you want to go first?" Hermione asked them.

Frodo looked over at Sam.

"Wherever you want to go, Mr Frodo." Sam shrugged, truly not minding where they went.

Frodo grinned. "Honeydukes."

Sam's predictions had been true. Frodo tried to hold back as he was well aware that Harry had offered to buy everything for him, but in the end – after many reassurances from Harry that he had plenty of money to share – they exited the shop with several bags stuffed full of Peppermint Frogs, Sugar Quills, Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans, Liquorice Wands and many other items besides. Not including, of course, everything that was consumed while still in the shop.

Sam, who had quite the sweet tooth himself, had thoroughly enjoyed the time in the shop but now was severely needing a drink after all that sugar. So, they made their way over to the Three Broomsticks pub, which Harry told them was pretty much the same as an inn.

However, as he hung back to munch on a few more sweets, Frodo stopped and stared down a side-alley. Sam turned around. "What is it, Mr Frodo?"

"I can see something down there…" Frodo said, frowning into the darkness of the alley. He turned and looked at Harry and the others. "We'll come in a minute." Harry looked hesitant, but Ron pulled him and Hermione into the pub, reassuring them that the hobbits would be fine.

"Mr Frodo, I think we shouldn't go down there." Sam counselled, not liking how cold and dark the alley felt.

"Hang on, Sam. I just want to see what that is."

One day, Sam knew, he would be brave enough to curse Frodo's curiosity to his face. For now, he could only shake his head and follow his master as Frodo slowly headed down the alley. Each step he took seemed to chill him to the bone. Something was definitely wrong.

"What can you see?" Sam asked, trying to spot anything out-of-place.

"There." Frodo pointed. "Can't you see it? It looks like someone is there, just around the corner. What if they're injured?"

Sam squinted and at last could see the shadow of a cloaked figure. Its posture was strange, he admitted, but there was something that warned him from going any further.

"I don't think it's someone injured." Sam said warily, reaching out to take Frodo's arm in an attempt to pull him back to the street. "I think we should…"

But whatever Sam was about to say was cut off as the figure revealed itself.

It was definitely cloaked, but it seemed to have no feet, gliding across the icy ground towards them. Whatever heat remained in Sam's body vanished, and he felt Frodo's skin freeze as well. A horrid, rasping sound reached his ears and, in terror, he realised that it was the creature's _breath. _Ugly, half-rotted hands reached out towards them. Unbidden, Sam felt an overwhelming despair settle over him. If only he had insisted more strongly that they shouldn't have come down here.

He could feel Frodo trembling violently. Inching around to see him properly, Sam could see that Frodo's eyes were wide and staring and that tears were sliding down his cheeks. His mouth was open in a silent scream.

"Frodo, Mr Frodo, it's…it's going to be alright." Sam whispered, trying to comfort his master but knowing that Frodo was far away from him.

Frodo dropped heavily to his knees as the creature grew ever closer, pulling Sam down with him. He was sobbing quietly and whispering. Terrified, Sam leaned closer.

"No, no, Ma…Pa…let me go…let me help them…"

Sam gasped. Why was Frodo remembering his parents' death? Sam wanted to reach out to him, to again tell him that it was okay, but he felt frozen. His heart was filled with hopelessness as the horrible creature's breath grew louder, and Sam knew that any second now it was going to be upon them.

His vision became obscured. Sam heard a thump, but couldn't find the will to blink and restore his sight. He felt himself slipping away into the darkness that surrounded him.

Then suddenly, a blazing white light lit up the area and Sam could see again. He watched in utter amazement as an animal made of light – he thought it was some sort of stag – charged past him at the creature, restoring some warmth to his body as it went. The creature screeched and flew off back around the corner and out of sight.

The stag vanished as if it, too, had never been there. Shaking, Sam turned to see that Frodo had collapsed and was lying, face blank, on the ground.

Panic seized him and he reached out, gently tapping Frodo's face.

"Wake up, Mr Frodo." He whispered anxiously.

"He'll be alright, Sam." A voice said and Sam looked up to see that their saviour was Harry, Hermione and Ron close behind. Harry was pale, but there was a determined and angry look in his eyes. "Hermione, run up to Honeydukes and get the biggest bar of chocolate you can find. Ron, go and find Merry and Pippin. I'll take them into the Three Broomsticks."

They nodded and ran back into the street. Harry approached Sam and Frodo. Pointing his wand at the unconscious hobbit, he said, "_Rennervate_."

Frodo slowly opened his eyes. He was shivering madly and his skin was the colour of chalk. His eyes were initially frightened, but as he recognised those above him, they calmed. Harry and Sam helped him sit up.

"What…what was that?" Frodo asked weakly, after swallowing several times. Sam rubbed his back in an attempt to comfort him.

"I'll explain once you're feeling a bit better." Harry said, standing up and offering Frodo his hand. "We need to get both of you warm again. Let's get into the Three Broomstick, then we'll talk."

Sam tried to say that he was fine, but Harry gave him a stern look. Indeed, he did feel very shaken himself and he definitely was still freezing, but Frodo's reaction and what had happened to him concerned him beyond belief. He just hoped that Harry could explain it.

**As we know, Harry will have all the answers. Please don't forget to let me know any ideas any of you have, whether it's for pranks or otherwise. This story is going to go on for some time, so they'll be plenty of space for ideas :) **

**LOTCR: Lol, thank you kindly ^_^ No, that's fine, everyone has different likes. Hee hee, well I'm going to see if I can stretch this out to the battle in the Ministry. We'll see. Yeah! Lol, then beware, Legolas is going to get pranked at some stage in the near future. Ooohhh! Um...um...um...I'll take that one -takes cookie to turn myself into a cat- Meow :3**

**Lol, thank you very much and I hope this chapter was quick enough for you :) Next one will be up soon and, hopefully, will include other members of the Fellowship. I just love the hobbits too much, but I have to remember not to ignore the rest.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here we are again with another chapter. Things are getting a bit heavier now, aren't they? I never really intended that to happen but, oh well, that's where the story has taken me ^_^ Now a quick note: I may not be able to update as regularly for about a week, as I'm going away. I will be taking my laptop with me, but I don't know how often I'll get to type, unfortunately. So, please be patient :)**

**On with the chapter!**

Lifting Frodo up gently and pulling one of his arms around each of their shoulders, Harry and Sam helped Frodo back into the street and into the Three Broomsticks, where they led him over to an empty table that was close to the fire. He would have walked himself, if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't know whether or not his legs would support him.

He still felt very weak and strange; still cold, though the fire quickly begun fixing that, and his heart beat unevenly. Everything around him seemed to be moving in a blur, for all he could really see were the scenes that had flashed in his mind when that creature had approached them.

He didn't even know that the memories existed that clearly, but they must have done. The creature had gotten closer, and then suddenly his surroundings had disappeared and in their place he could see the Brandywine River. He was forced, unwillingly, to relive the moment when his parents' boat, far out in the middle of the river, started sinking from an unnoticed hole in its hull. He remembered someone, his Aunty Esmerelda perhaps, grabbing hold of him as he tried to run into the water and save his parents. Others did so, but by the time they had released their own boats, it was too late.

He could hear his own voice in his head screaming for his parents, screaming at the unfairness of it all. Then everything had gone black, but when he opened his eyes, the images returned. Now, they wouldn't go away, no matter how hard he tried to focus on Sam and Harry, who sat on either side of him.

Something was pressed into his hand.

"Eat as much of it as you can. You, too, Sam. Trust me, it helps."

That was Hermione. It must be chocolate. Frodo didn't feel like eating anything and didn't know how chocolate would help, but he did as he was told and took a bite.

He was shocked. As he swallowed, the visions became a bit less clear, and he felt himself warm and relax a bit more. Relieved that something was helping, he continued taking bites of the chocolate. He became aware of two others, Merry and Pippin, sitting opposite him at the table. Sam had one hand on his shoulder, while Merry and Pippin took one of his hands in theirs and squeezed them reassuringly. Everyone was strangely quiet, which he was glad for.

After maybe five minutes, the visions were banished altogether and he heaved a sigh of relief as proper feeling returned to his limbs.

"Thank you." He said, to them all.

"Right, now that Mr Frodo has returned to us, I think you'd better do some explainin'." Sam said to Harry, who nodded.

He kept his voice lowered. "That was a Dementor. They're creatures of despair. No-one knows what they actually look like under the cloak, but they remove the happiness from their victims and force them to relive their most sorrowful memory. Thus, it effects some people more than others because, of course, not everyone has experienced moments of depression or intense sorrow. The way to fight them is to use the Patronus Charm, which is what I did. The Charm is conducted by remembering something very happy, to combat what the Dementor is trying to do. They're meant to guard the Wizard prison, Azkaban, but two attacked me this summer." He looked around to further make sure no-one was listening in. "Dumbledore thinks that they are working for Voldemort. That's why there are loose ones wandering around. I nearly got expelled after the attack on myself because I had to use that Charm to defend myself."

Frodo remembered Harry explaining that Underage Wizards weren't allowed to use magic outside school, but he was confused as to why there weren't exceptions in life-threatening situations, until he remembered the corruption of the Ministry.

"But, you are going to tell Dumbledore, right, Harry?" Hermione asked sternly.

Harry looked down. "Dumbledore hasn't exactly been paying loads of attention to me this year, Hermione. Whatever I tell him, he'll probably ignore. Besides, what could he do? His hands are tied by toad-face."

Hermione glowered. "Well, he needs to know. So, if you won't tell him, I will."

Harry shot her a look that said 'fine, I'll tell him if it'll make you happy'.

Frodo looked over at the hobbit next to him, remembering that he, too, had been affected by the Dementors. "Sam, are you alright?"

"Of course I'm alright, Mr Frodo." Sam said lightly. "Just a bit shaken-up, that's all. What about you?"

Frodo resisted a sigh, knowing that Sam would forever be more concerned for him than for his own health. However, he could see that colour had returned to Sam's cheeks and he did seem mostly relaxed, so Frodo believed that he felt much better.

"I'm fine, Sam. I assure you." He said, forcing a smile onto his face. Physically, he no longer felt the effects of the Dementor's presence. But it would take more than some chocolate and a warm fire to fully recover from having to relive the most traumatising event of his life before the Ring entered it.

As that thought crossed his mind, he became aware of the fact that the Ring felt even heavier than usual as it hung from his neck. He got the chilling feeling that it relished in his suffering, and quickly turned his mind to other things.

A second, much larger hand settled on his other shoulder, and he looked up in surprise to see Gandalf towering above him. The old Wizard smiled gently down at him, although there was concern in his eyes.

"What happened, my dear boy? You look as though you've seen a ghost." He rumbled deeply.

That wasn't too far off from the truth, so Frodo – with help from Harry – explained what had occurred. Gandalf remained standing, but shook his head once the tale had finished.

"When will you learn to at least attempt to stay safe?" Gandalf demanded, though Frodo could tell he was trying not to sound too angry. "You don't seem to realise how important you are, Frodo. If this Dementor had got its way with you, it would have taken your very soul and left you as nothing more than a husk. Dumbledore has told me about them."

Frodo said nothing. He did feel very foolish and knew that he should not have wandered down that alley. He should have listened to Sam. He should always listen to Sam.

Gandalf, still shaking his head, wandered back over to his table where Frodo recognised Hagrid and Professor McGonagall were also seated.

Ron, who Frodo hadn't even realised had gone, suddenly appeared and announced that he had ordered them all a drink called Butterbeer.

"What's that?" Pippin asked. "Can't you just get regular beer? Or even better, any ale?"

"Of course you can get that here." Ron said. "But we're students, underage. We don't drink. Butterbeer hasn't got any alcohol in it. Do you like to drink, then?"

Pippin looked as though Ron had just uttered blasphemy. "Of course we do. You're not a hobbit unless you can drink and be merry, no pun intended." He added, looking sideways at his cousin.

"Well, at least try Butterbeer." Hermione interceded.

Pippin's face remained sceptical, but he agreed. Frodo was just happy to be drinking something, as he had suddenly realised how thirsty he was, although he couldn't help but agree with his cousins that ale would have been preferable.

Looking around while they waited for Madam Rosmerta, the barmaid, to bring the drinks, Frodo spotted others that he recognised. It seemed everyone had come to the pub to banish the cold of winter. Legolas and Gimli sat a short way away, the latter of which gulping eagerly from a tankard of something that was definitely not Butterbeer. Aragorn entered as Frodo looked over at the door and headed over to Gandalf's table. Fred and George sat on another table with a dark-skinned, dreadlocked boy, talking in hushed whispers. Several other students were scattered around, including Luna Lovegood, who looked up as though she sensed Frodo's eyes. She sat alone, but waved happily to him.

Frodo smiled and waved back and was just about to invite her over to their table when Madam Rosmerta arrived, effectively blocking her from his view. He noticed that Ron was gazing at the barmaid with a longing expression in his eyes, and also noticed that Hermione scoffed and shook her head. He wondered what the situation was between the two of them.

He had to admit; the Butterbeer was delicious. It was served slightly warm and was topped with a head of cream. Its taste was difficult to describe – somewhere between caramel, ginger and beer – and he did have a tough time believing that it was alcohol-free due to that taste.

They made small talk for the next half an hour, before braving the outside once again. They left Merry and Pippin at Honeydukes, as they had yet to visit the sweetshop, and decided to head back up to the castle. Frodo and Sam were cold, and Hermione deemed it best not to go near the haunted Shrieking Shack after the Dementor attack.

Soon, they were back in the Gryffindor common room, sitting in the various large armchairs around the fire. They were among the first back, so the room was fairly empty. There, they gorged on their Honeydukes hoard and chatted some more of things of little importance. Little did they know, that night things were going to take an even darker turn in the Wizarding World.

**Well, considering that this story began just before Christmas for Harry, I'm sure most of you can guess what's coming next. It should be quite interesting. And of course, we know that Frodo doesn't take his own advice about always listening to Sam.**

**LOTCR: Well, I will dare, and no matter how hard you try you can't protect Legolas from me *cue evil laugh*. Lol, aw how cute, I love cats. Well, it's only weird because I don't know your OC. Yes, it did have to happen. That's a bit of an empty threat, because I actually wouldn't mind permanently being a cat, as long as I could still type ^_^ Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone, I got this chapter done way earlier, but my laptop has flat out denied my ever attempt to update. Finally it's worked. Yay! Now, I've noticed a canonical mistake that I've made: The Quidditch team was only just formed when the following chapter takes place. I apologise for this. However, though I am sticking to canon as much as possible, I hope it doesn't matter too much if I modify the chronology of some events to suit where this story is going. Don't worry, I won't change it too much at all. Anyway, enjoy! :)**

**The idea for the beginning of this chapter is one Aria Breuer gave me. She has been my unofficial beta writer for this story, so a big thank you to her ^_^**

The day rolled into afternoon, and Ginny returned from Hogsmeade and said goodbye to her friends outside the portrait, before heading into the common room. There she was amused to discover Harry, Ron, Hermione and all four hobbits dozing in the chairs around the fire. It seemed that they were all asleep, and various sweet wrappers were littered everywhere. They were the only ones in the common room.

Quietly, so as not to disturb them, she headed up to the girls' dormitory and grabbed the letter that she meant to send to her mother. It was a response to a letter Ginny had received the previous day, but she hadn't gotten a chance to send it yet. She crept back down and was almost to the portrait hole when a rather sleepy voice sounded.

"Oh, hello there, we hadn't meant to fall asleep." It was one of the hobbits. Ginny hadn't yet learned who was who, but she knew it was neither Merry or Pippin. Through the process of elimination, she realised it was Sam.

"That's alright." She said, keeping her voice low so as not to wake the others. "I was just on the way up to the Owlery to send a letter to my mum." Then, feeling that it would be rude not to invite him along, she said, "Would you like to come? I think you'd like to see the Owlery, but if you'd prefer to just relax and go back to sleep…"

"No, no." he murmured quickly, getting up slowly and silently. "I'll come, if you don't mind." He went to grab his cloak.

He was very polite and soft-spoken. Ginny smiled as they exited Gryffindor Tower together. She had noticed that Merry and Pippin were more Fred and George's type, and she didn't yet know much about the other one, Frodo, but it seemed like Sam was easy going and kept out of trouble, unless it came to him. Much like herself.

They chatted a bit as they headed out to the Owlery. Ginny filled him in on how Wizarding mail worked and he seemed very fascinated by the whole concept. He listened intently most times, but other times he appeared distracted, thinking of something other than the topic at hand. Once they reached the tower and got used to the sheer number of owls fluttering around inside it, Sam began approaching those who were perched. He had a way with animals, that much was instantly clear, and he didn't once get bitten.

Ginny knew that Ron would get angry if she used Pigwidedgeon, so she called down one of the school owls and tied the letter to its leg. Sam hadn't said a word since the conversation had died. She looked over to see him gazing out one of the windows and got the distinct impression that he wasn't seeing the view.

"Sam, are you okay?" she asked politely.

"Hm?" he turned. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just…worrying. That's just me, I worry about everything."

"Are you worrying about something in particular?" She didn't want to pry, but also hoped that Sam would find it comforting to talk to someone about whatever was on his mind. Of course, she doubted he would open up to her, being a stranger.

So she was surprised when he sighed and said, "Yes; Mr Frodo. I don't know if you know, but earlier in Hogsmeade we were attacked by a Dementor creature. Something…happened to Mr Frodo."

He frowned as he tried to figure out how best to word it. Ginny nodded in understanding. "Yeah, Fred and George told me about it. They'd heard the story from Merry and Pippin. Frodo's obviously experienced something in his life then…something sad. Is he alright now?"

"I think so." Sam answered. "He says he is, anyway, but I'm sure he's not fully alright. You see, I know what that Dementor made him see. Mr Frodo's parents died when he was only twelve. To put that in perspective for you, it's about seven years old in Men's terms."

Ginny gasped softly, having not expected that. "How horrible for him to have to re-live that. Harry might not have said, but he re-lives his parents' death as well when Dementors get near him, so I'm sure he was very understanding with Frodo."

Sam nodded. "He was indeed. I don't know what would have happened if Harry hadn't rescued us. He said he used a Charm against the Dementor. But that's not all. I worry about him constantly lately because of the Ring."

"Ring?" Ginny asked. And so Sam launched into an explanation of the Ring and its journey from the hobbits' homeland of the Shire, to the Elven city of Rivendell and what had been decided there, then the journey since. Ginny didn't understand all of it, but she did understand the dangers of this Ring.

"Mr Frodo was so brave to volunteer to take that horrible thing to be destroyed, but it affects him so. It's evil, so evil and it affects his sleep, his eating habits, even his mind. He's shorter tempered these days, and is even quieter than usual, which is saying much as Mr Frodo was always a solemn hobbit. It's better here, I think because the Ring isn't in its homeland, but he also hides it well. But I've known him since I was a child. I can always tell."

He fell silent then, and Ginny wanted to reach out and comfort him, but didn't know if he would appreciate the gesture or think it was awkward. Instead, she merely said, "I understand. I worry about Harry, too." In return for the trust he had placed in her, she briefly told him of Harry's connection to Voldemort and the little she knew from Hermione about Harry's dreams.

Sam smiled shyly at her. "Looks like we have that in common."

She returned the smile and nodded. "We do. Well, let's head back. Oh, before I forget, mum's offered for you and the rest of the guests to stay with us for the Christmas break, if you wish. She found out about you from Dumbledore and it was he who originally suggested it. But mum's always welcoming, she agreed straight away. Although, you might want to stay here, as Hogwarts is always spectacular at Christmas." She trailed off as she noticed Sam's blank face.

"What's Christmas?" he asked. Once Ginny explained briefly, his eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh, it's like Yule."

"We also call it Yule." Ginny said, surprised.

"Well, Yule is the end of the Shire year. 1 Yule is the end of the year, 2 Yule is the beginning of the year, but the Yuletide celebrations go on for about six days." Sam elaborated.

"Sounds similar."

"Then in that case, it would be an honour to celebrate it with your family. I'm sure everyone else will agree." He said brightly.

"It's decided, then." Ginny agreed, and together they made their way back through the castle and into the Gryffindor common room…where everyone was still asleep. Ginny and Sam shared a laugh, and the latter woke the others, gently chiding the other hobbits, who laughed. Ginny cast a look at Frodo while his attention was on Sam and could see that, indeed, he did look rather thin and pale, even after the clear evidence scattered over his clothes pointed to the consumption of many sweets. She hoped she could maybe talk to him about it one day, too, and share the advice she always meant to give Harry if she could be brave enough to talk to him about his dreams.

* * *

Merry was woken in the middle of the night by a series of worried, but muffled, voices and scuffling in the boys' dormitory next to the hobbits' room. Sitting up, he realised that the others had also awoken and were talking in hushed whispers.

"Should we go and see what's going on?" Pippin asked, looking worried.

"I think we should." Merry said. The other two agreed, albeit Sam was slightly wary. Merry got out of bed and led the way to the boys' dormitory where he found the door wide open. Several students were crowded around one of the beds, including Ron. Merry managed to see whose bed it was, and gasped in shock.

Harry looked as though he had lost a fair amount of weight in the night. He was pale and feverish, his eyes were wild. He was muttering constantly…something about a snake and someone's father. There was evidence that he had been ill.

"What happened?" Frodo was the first to recover from the shock of the sight.

Ron jumped at the new voice and turned towards them. "Harry has had a…well…some sort of dream."

"It's not a dream!" Harry snapped. "Frodo, you believe me, don't you?"

Merry turned to see Frodo's face, full of concern and understanding, as he nodded. "I do."

Merry, of course, did not understand, but he did know that Frodo would not lie. He also knew that he would eventually find out what was going on.

He heard the sound of fast footprints and turned just in time to push himself and the other hobbits against the wall to avoid being flattened by Professor McGonagall. She rushed in and spoke with Harry, asking him about the 'dream'. She too seemed to believe him, and soon they were rushing out of the dorimitory, Ron in tow. Without a word, the hobbits followed them to Dumbledore's office.

They all remained quiet for the next fifteen minutes or so, knowing that there was nothing they could say. Dumbledore didn't mind them being there, or at least, he didn't say otherwise. Gandalf was there as well, and Merry briefly wondered if either of the Wizards ever slept. They listened quietly and patiently, even Pippin, and heard about the attack on Ron's father. To Merry, it did seem like a dream, but Dumbledore took it very seriously and spoke to some of the portraits on the walls. They disappeared, which was strange enough, but then he called forth a great golden bird and said, "We will need…a warning."

In a flash of fire, the bird, too, vanished. Merry was just wondering if anything else was going to vanish, one of the portrait people returned. He said that Mr Weasley's body had been recovered. So it was true, he thought in wonder. Then another portrait person reappeared and confirmed that he had been taken to some sort of 'hospital'. Merry presumed that meant healing place, like the Hospital Wing. Dumbledore then instructed McGonagall to wake the other Weasley children, and told Pippin to go and find the rest of the Fellowship.

One more portrait message later – a rather unwilling participant, this time, by the name of Phineas – and everyone had returned to the office. Dumbledore then placed what appeared to be an old kettle on one of the tables.

He looked around at the students that were present. "You all have travelled by Portkey before, correct?" he asked. They nodded, and Merry waited for an explanation, but none came as Dumbledore turned his attention to the rest. "I apologise, but there is no time to tell you what a Portkey is. Professor Umbridge will likely not believe Minerva's story and will arrive here presently. All you have to do is touch the kettle."

Merry obediently did so, as did everyone else. He would normally of questioned the events a lot more than he was, but at the moment he just felt that it was best to keep quiet. He was squashed between Pippin and Harry, so he was able to feel quite keenly when – as Dumbledore counted up to three – Harry stiffened. Merry looked up to see the strangest expression on his face; something between…hunger and evil, but he wasn't given a chance to think about it before something jerked behind his navel and he was flung into a whirling vortex.

**I know there was a bit of a lack of detail in that chapter, but because I wanted it in Merry's pov, it would be quite a blur because he's not understanding everything that's going on. Also, I've decided that the Fellowship isn't going to accompany the Weasleys and Harry to St Mungo's. I'm going to use the time while everyone's at the hospital for the Fellowship to get to know the Order better.**

**LOTCR: -calls Frodo, armed with Sting and Sherlock, armed with a gun. They points it at you and Frodo says "Get off her, you are not allowed to hurt her!" - ^_^ Thanks boys, now I'm free to prank Legolas. So there! I've got bodyguards. Keep going and I'll turn Legolas himself on you, mwuhahahaha! Lol. It's ok, I like weirdness :) You don't pester me. I actually really enjoy reading your reviews, because of how fun they are! Glad to hear I made you laugh. Please continue to let me know any lines that make you laugh :) And I will still try to update whenever I can while I'm away. Also, I read your latest review to The Rival Houses. Don't think Aria Breuer ignored your Sherlock reference. She just hasn't seen it. I have though, and it made me smile ^_^ High-functioning sociopath indeed. I did my research :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Yay, even away I'm able to get chapters done :) This chapter may be a bit boring after the excitement/fun of the last couple, but it needs to be done. Hope you enjoy it ^_^**

Frodo, like the others, squeezed his eyes shut when they started spinning. When he opened them, they were in a kitchen of some sort, although it felt very dim and gloomy. There were plates and pots stacked on shelves, a long table in the middle and several doors which led to other parts of what he presumed was a house. They had all been scattered around the floor from the rough landing.

Slowly, he got to his feet. As he did, a Man hurried into the room. He looked quite wild; his hair and beard were unkempt, his clothing casual and his eyes were bloodshot. All in all, he reminded Frodo of what he pictured Strider would look like after one beer too many.

"What's going on?" He asked as he helped Ginny to her feet. "Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured…"

"Ask Harry." Said Fred.

"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself." Said George.

Everyone was staring at Harry. Frodo felt for him, as he could relate. He remembered being stared at when he had volunteered to take the Ring, although this was possibly even worse because Harry was forced to explain such a horrible experience. Frodo, too, was worried about the Weasleys' father, though he didn't know the man.

Harry hesitatingly told of his vision. Frodo noticed that Harry made it sound as though he was merely an observer to the event, rather than actually seeing things through the eyes of the snake like he had said to Dumbledore. He understood why.

Once Harry's voice had trailed off, there was a moment of silence before an argument broke out about whether the Weasleys would be allowed to rush off to see their father. Frodo lost track of the conversation a bit and he and the rest of the Fellowship hung back. The argument grew in intensity and Frodo braced himself to step in if a fight was to ensue; he knew all too well the heightened emotions when a loved one was hurt, but didn't want anyone to do anything they would regret.

However, things quickly calmed down. The four Weasleys plopped into chairs, defeated. The man magically summoned some Butterbeer, then finally turned to the Fellowship, who it appeared he had only just noticed.

"Who are you?" He asked. "Dumbledore didn't say about anyone else coming. You all look…rather strange." His eyes roamed over the hobbits, Gimli, Legolas and Gandalf.

The latter stepped forwards. "We are guests at Hogwarts. Strangers from a distant land. It is difficult to explain and now is not the time for it. You may confirm with Albus if you must, but I give you my word that we are well known to him and our coming here was by his permission." He then followed by introducing everyone.

The man also introduced himself as Sirius Black, and Frodo realised that this was Harry's godfather. Harry had told him a great deal about Sirius, and Frodo could tell that Harry greatly looked up to and loved him. He could see why. Despite looking rather haggard, Sirius had a wild abandon about him and the fact that he had a kind heart was clear, qualities that Harry himself possessed.

"Well, any guests of Dumbledore's are guests of the Order. I presume he's told you about the Order then. I hope so, what with me blabbing on about it a moment ago." Sirius said smoothly.

When Gandalf confirmed that they did indeed know about the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius relaxed and summoned some more Butterbeer for them. He and Boromir got talking about things very removed from the situation at hand, in an attempt to lessen the tension of the room, Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn took a seat at the table and stayed silent, while Pippin tried rather vainly to cheer up Fred and George. Merry and Sam in turn went over to Ginny, who was looking the most depressed of the lot, and made an effort to comfort her, though they knew there wasn't much they could say.

Frodo's eyes were on Harry. He could see that the boy was very troubled about his 'dream'. His face had never lost its paleness, and his eyes were withdrawn into himself. Frodo wished to go and talk to him, but knew that Harry would prefer to do so when they could talk more openly. Besides, he looked like he needed to sort things out in his own mind before sharing his thoughts.

His mind returned to the object hanging from the chain around his neck. He wondered if putting it on would render him invisible here, as he doubted if this world contained the two planes of existence like Middle-earth; the real world and the spirit world. Curious, he took the chain off his neck and pulled the Ring off it.

Looking around, as he knew that more than one person in the room would tell him off for what he was about to do, he slipped the Ring onto his finger.

The most intense agony he had ever experienced lanced through his skull, obliterating thought and reason. He screamed silently, for every muscle, including his vocal chords, went rigid from the pain. It felt like a white hot knife had been stabbed into his head. The only thing he could compare it to was the pain of the Morgul blade, although that had been different in that it had been icy cold instead of feeling like his head was stuck inside a furnace.

The only thing that could cross his mind was to take the Ring off, so he moved the lead-like fingers of his right hand over to his left and gripped the gold band, yanking it off. The pain vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving nothing but a slight tender feeling all around his head and a severe light-headedness. He swayed on his feet, but someone came to support him before his legs gave way.

Sam said nothing, but Frodo could feel the disapproval radiating out from the gardener. Merry, on the other hand, was glaring at him, as both had left Ginny as soon as they had noticed what he had done.

"Why, on Middle-earth, would you put that on? You know you shouldn't put it on _in _Middle-earth, let alone here! What happened?" He demanded, and Frodo realised that they had both witnessed his moment of agony, not just his removal of the Ring.

However, he felt the need to defend himself. After all, as if Merry would have been any less curious.

"How was I supposed to know that it would be painful? It never was before. It felt as though the Ring was…angry at me for putting it on here. It's difficult to explain. Did I disappear?" He asked, motioning to Sam to let him know that he could support himself again.

Merry shook his head, but it was Sam who answered, rather harsher than usually, "No, you didn't. But it was clear that it was more than just 'painful'. You can't keep doing this to yourself! That thing affects you enough already. Your curiosity will be the death of you, Mr Frodo. First the alley, now this? How you survived fourteen years without either me or Merry around is one of the greatest miracles of the Shire! Why, what my old Gaffer would say if he knew the foolhardy things you've been getting up to. There's too much Took in you for me to be comfortable. You are one of the most intelligent and wisest people I know, Mr Frodo, but lately you have not been using your brain. I don't know what's gotten into you, but it's about time you went back to thinking before you do something that could kill you!"

Frodo just stared at him, too shocked to respond. Sam never snapped at him…ever. So for him to speak with such force meant that he was really annoyed, which meant that he was very worried, which meant that, once again, Frodo felt like a child for not using his intelligence properly. He knew that Sam's words were true. He couldn't answer the question as to why he had been so reckless lately. He could, of course, blame it on the Ring himself, but deep down he knew that it had something to do with a subconscious decision to live his life to the fullest, as he was keenly aware that it could end at any moment. Still, that was no excuse, especially if it meant worrying Sam.

"You're right, Sam." He said. Sam looked at him, startled. "I promise you now, that I will do my best to try not to give in to my curiosity again."

Sam couldn't help but smile, and rolled his eyes. "I'll believe that when I see it. The day you say 'no' to your curiosity is the day Pippin only has one meal in a twenty-four hour period."

"Hey!" Pippin cried distractedly, having only caught that last comment.

Pippin's retort was cut short as Dumbledore's bird suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. They heard a female voice, whom they presumed was Mrs Weasley, say that she was on her way to the hospital and that Mr Weasley was still alive. The words chilled the blood of every person in the room, for it gave no comfort as to his permanent survival.

Needless to say, it was a very long night.

**Hope you all enjoyed that chapter :) I'm starting to explore Frodo and Sam's characters now, which is both fun and insightful. Nearly having finished The Two Towers helps :) Also, Sam's comment about how Frodo survived for fourteen years without him and Merry is based on the logic that Frodo would have visited Bag End many times before he was adopted by Bilbo, and thus gotten to know Sam well during that period.**

**LOTCR: -gives Frodo and Sherlock their weapons back (BTW, you don't just disarm Sherlock, he would've seen you coming), calls up the rest of the Fellowship, plus an army of Elves, Dwarves, Men, HP Wizards plus any and all Secret Service members Mycroft can spare- Beat that! I'll do what I like with the characters I write about, thank you :) BTW, Legolas is included in that. He likes me, and he knows I won't hurt him if I get him pranked, so there! Yeah, Sherlockians unite! I most certainly am a Whovian. Are you? I'm going to guess that you are, and if you are I'd recommend that you read my stories A Whovian and a Time Lord, you'll like them :) Wholockians unite! Well...Wholockringpotterheads...something like that ^_^**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey, I know I haven't updated in a few days but this chapter was a bit difficult to write as it's quite a filler-in chapter, so I hope I've done alright. I also know that a few elements of the Grimmauld Place house are not exactly as they are in the books, but also not everything about Grimmauld Place was explained in the books, so there is leverage there :) Also...please tell me I'm not the only one who never noticed that Grimmauld Place = Grim Old Place...Yeah.**

By the time early morning had arrived, Mrs Weasley had turned up and announced that Mr Weasley was stable, but sleeping. The Weasley children were delighted when they heard that they would be able to go and visit him soon. Breakfast was organised by Sirius and Sam was quick to offer his help.

Merry and the others continued to hang back, but they were all happy when Mrs Weasley ordered them all to go and get some sleep after eating. Apparently, she already knew about everyone, so Merry assumed that Dumbledore or one of the Weasleys had told her.

"If you like, you could come with us to St Mungo's." she said, but it was clear that the offer was made purely out of courtesy.

The decision was unanimous around the Fellowship; they would be perfectly happy to remain behind and explore the house or merely relax. Mrs Weasley visibly relaxed herself and gave them all an appreciative smile.

The four hobbits were shown to a rather beaten up old room that was quickly organised with four mattresses. Mrs Weasley apologised profusely, but Sam assured her that they had slept in far less comfortable places many times. She seemed to be continually fussing over them, practically treating them like children. Clearly, despite knowing that they were actually adult hobbits – Pippin not included – she viewed them as such. However, the hobbits didn't mind. Usually, they would protest at being treated like children, but with Mrs Weasley it felt different. She reminded them all of their own mothers.

After a short rest, Frodo woke Merry when he heard everyone else going downstairs as they wanted to say goodbye before they left. The rest of the Fellowship were already in the kitchen and spilling out into the thin hallway. It was easy to see that everyone had taken Mrs Weasley's advice and slept, except Harry, who had even darker shadows under his eyes and behaved with the air of someone who was constantly tense, though he was clearly trying to act normal and upbeat.

Soon, Harry and the Weasleys were ready to leave.

"Good luck." Aragorn said, shaking Mrs Weasley's hand warmly. "I hope all goes well and Arthur makes a full recovery."

Everyone else added various sentiments and well-wishings in accordance with their customs, before stepping back once more and letting the Weasleys leave. Then, not really knowing what to do, Merry went and grabbed Pippin.

"Let's go see more of this house. I reckon there's all sorts of interesting things hidden around here." He said.

Pippin's eyes lit up. "Sounds good."

Seeing that everyone else was otherwise occupied either with chatting or just sitting around staring into space – in the case of Frodo and Legolas – Merry and Pippin snuck away into the corridor beyond.

The first room they entered was large and completely empty except for a mural. It covered the entire wall and, as Merry looked closer, he guessed that it was Sirius' family tree, as a lot of the people had the last name 'Black'. After a few moments, he realised that Sirius' name must be one of the several that looked like they had been burned out.

"We'll have to ask him why that is." Pippin commented after Merry pointed out the burn marks. "He's clearly not the only one. Maybe they disgraced the family or something."

"I get the feeling that disgracing this family was actually a good thing." Merry said, examining one of the burn marks. It seemed slightly unnatural and he suspected that a spell had been used.

Exiting the mural room, they headed back into the hallway. One of the other rooms was some sort of washing space, which wasn't very exciting, leaving the staircase. The house probably branched off through one of the other doors in the kitchen, but for now the two hobbits were content.

Suddenly the kitchen door opened.

"Oh, it's you." Sirius whispered, sighing. "Just to warn you, I'm not going to stop you exploring, but I will say be as quiet as possible. My mother's portrait is just there," he pointed to a set of curtains hanging from a rail on the ceiling. "And she will scream bloody murder if woken up. I'd rather that didn't happen."

"We'll be quiet." Merry promised. Sirius threw one more daunted look at the curtains, then disappeared back into the kitchen.

They then climbed the first flight of stairs, on the side of which were mounted what looked like heads that had been shrunk. As Merry inspected one closer, he realised with horror that they were House-elf heads. What sort of people had Sirius' family been, to shrink House-elves' heads and stick them on the wall?

On one side of the first floor was a bedroom that seemed to be one Harry and Ron shared, on the other side was Hermione and Ginny's room – clearly a girls' room from the neatness and slight scent of perfume. Not wanting to pry, they climbed the next flight. There they found other rooms; their own from that morning, Aragorn and Boromir's, Legolas and Gimli's. Once again, any evidence that Gandalf slept was absent. They knew he did, because they had witnessed him napping during their travels, but where and when since entering the Wizarding World was a complete mystery.

* * *

While the two hobbits were scurrying around the house looking for surprises, Boromir and Sirius had struck up a conversation. It seemed that they had one thing in common; family issues.

"Yeah, my mother was a right angel." Sirius said bitterly once they got on the topic. "She hated me, because I didn't go along with the rest of the family and become infested with the Dark Arts."

Boromir looked down, his thoughts on a similar case in his own family. "It's so wrong. My father treats my brother badly as well. Faramir was never as fond of fighting for our land as I was, which I find no issue with as he was perfectly willing to benefit Gondor in other ways. Yet, our father, Denethor Steward of Gondor, would often look down on him. My father has very set ideas as to what a Man should do and be."

"I think your father and my mother should get married." Sirius commented dryly. The two looked at each other, before chuckling at the image the statement conjured.

"Ah well, you can choose your path but not your kin." Boromir sighed. "Now, where have those hobbits gotten to?"

He looked around waist height, almost expecting them to be standing nearby.

"Two of them, I think it was Merry and Pippin, disappeared off into the house. I…" Sirius, too, looked around the kitchen. "…don't know where the other two are."

Gimli shrugged when he realised who they were looking for. Legolas confessed that he had been occupied talking to Aragorn and hadn't heard or seen anything, while Aragorn himself suggested that they went to look for Merry and Pippin.

He offered to go and look for Frodo and Sam, seeing and understanding that Boromir was concerned. The younger Man couldn't pinpoint why he was worried, but it was something that bothered him whenever Frodo was out of sight. At Hogwarts he hadn't worried much as Dumbledore had frequently reassured them all that nothing could harm him. He knew that Aragorn worried even more about the eldest hobbit, and was grateful that he had volunteered for the search. Sirius said that he would accompany Aragorn, as he knew the house much better. Boromir sat down at the table, satisfied that the two would be found very quickly indeed.

* * *

Sam hurried on as best as he could, with Frodo's grip on his wrist tight and unyielding.

"Why won't you tell me why you're dragging me along, or where we're going?" he asked, hoping that Frodo hadn't already forgotten his promise that night.

"Because I don't want Merry and Pippin to hear where we're going and follow us." Frodo replied in a hushed voice. "We'll show them later, but I wanted you to be the first one to see."

"See what, Mr Frodo?" Sam pressed. He felt the familiar foreboding feeling grow whenever Frodo hid something from him.

Frodo turned back as he continued to pull the less-than-willing Sam up the stairs, his face sporting a huge grin. His cerulean eyes were glinting with happiness and wonder at whatever it is he had found. "You'll see."

They soon reached the top floor, where there was only one door at the end of a short corridor. They paused outside and Frodo finally released Sam's wrist

He looked back at Sam. "You will like this, I promise. It's nothing dangerous."

Sam sighed at those words: to Frodo it might not be dangerous, but to other less Tookish and Bagginsish hobbits would be akin to a Ringwraith. Still, he followed his master into the room.

There he was met by the most majestic creature he had ever seen. It was part bird, part horse. Its feathers and hair were a beautiful silvery grey, its back was the rear of a true stallion, its front the claws and head of a noble eagle. Behind its shoulders sprouted two huge and stunning wings, folded at the moment neatly against its sides. Its big eyes shone with intelligence, its beak looked very sharp. But for the first time Sam noticed none of the possibly harm-inflicting parts of the creature, for he was overcome by the beauty and awe of it.

Frodo, he saw, was bowing low to the creature, which, after a few moments, returned the gesture. To Sam's shock, Frodo approached and began patting its beak and head. His eyes were even more bright and full of wonder, and Sam took a moment to commit that look to memory, as he feared that Frodo would not experience many more moments where he could appreciate the beauty in life.

"How did you know to bow to it?" Sam asked, copying Frodo's actions. The creature turned its head sideways, regarding him as though wondering why there were two small people in front of it. Then it bowed as well, and Sam hesitantly approached.

"Harry told me." Frodo answered, smiling as he watched Sam pat the creature. "Last night, I was trying to distract him from the dream and he told me about Buckbeak. That's his name. He's called a Hippogriff and he's got quite a sad story attached to him. He, like Sirius, is wanted, which is why he has to stay up here. I'm sure he longs to fly again, but he can't until the Ministry starts believing Harry again."

"Buckbeak." Sam murmured quietly. Buckbeak made a funny noise deep in his throat, but it wasn't a threatening noise. Sam guessed it was a Hippogriff's version of a purr and realised that he was glad to have company.

A dark head suddenly popped around the corner of the open door. There was a wry smile on his face.

"How did I know you would be up here?" he asked himself. "I see Buckbeak's taken a shine to you. Everyone was wondering where you'd got to." He looked back. "Aragorn! They're here. You might want to see this!" his eyes met Sam's. "He likes you."

Then he disappeared again.

**Not sure when I'll be able to update again, but I'll do it as soon as I can. A big thank you once again to everyone who is supporting this story, and please don't forget to PM me any ideas as they are always welcome. With 9 LOTR characters and 20+ HP characters to work with, it can get just a bit difficult, as Aria Breuer can tell you :)**

**LOTCR: -stares at your army and the Doctors- You have done it. I'm sorry, but you've gone too far. You can summon an army of Cat Warriors against me, you can threaten and give speeches all you like, but you DO NOT turn my Tenth Doctor against me! -gives you the death glare of doom and turns into my OC, Talia- Doctor...what are you doing?**

**Doctor: Oh, Talia, um, nothing.**

**Talia: I should think so. You don't need to work with them. I don't care what LOTCR has told you, I'm doing nothing wrong. You know me, right.**

**Doctor: -smiles- Of course I do. Don't worry, I wasn't going to fight you, and neither were the other me's. We were just playing along because LOTCR threatened to unleash the cats on us.**

**Talia: Good. -changes back into me- You turn MY Doctor against me again, and I swear, I'm naming a character after you and writing a scene where you get killed by Voldemort. Read my story A Whovian and a Time Lord and you'll know why I'm so possessive with Ten.**

**Anyway, now that's out the way, that answers the question of whether you're a Whovian or not. So...you're a HP fan, a LOTR fan, a DW fan, a Sherlock fan... you are AWESOME in my book ^_^ Not that others who aren't into those aren't awesome, of course :)**

**Sorry to everyone else, LOTCR demands long replies to their reviews. Actually, LOTCR, you should sign up to fanfiction so we can PM. It would make things a lot easier, for us and for your conversations with Aria Breuer as well. Ok, I'll stop talking now so I don't bore everyone, bye now ^_^**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, I'm sorry its been a few days since I've been updated. I'm still away from home, so I'm quite busy during the day. I'd like to thank Aria Breuer for her ideas that I am using in this chapter, for without here I would not have updated today :) Enjoy!**

The rest of the day passed with a sense of anxiousness as everyone's mind returned to poor Mr Weasley. So, when the Weasleys and Harry – along with two very strange-looking people – returned with the news that he would make a full recovery, they all heaved a sigh of relief.

Merry watched Frodo stare at Harry as he walked in and turned his attention to the wizard himself, noticing that he seemed even paler than that morning, his eyes blank. He walked straight past everyone and headed out of the kitchen, probably heading to his room. Frodo moved as if to follow, but seemingly thought better of it.

Merry turned his attention to the two people who walked in with the group. One was a man who, as he watched, took of a hat to reveal that one of his eyes was electric blue and roamed around the room dizzily, pausing only for the tiniest of instances on each of the Fellowship. Realising that it had to be magical and not knowing what it could do, he averted his eyes. The man creeped him out.

The other person was a woman with short, bright pink hair. She had an impish look about her and her eyes, too, looked around at the guests. They rested on Merry and, almost subconsciously, he sucked in a breath. Being the first adult witch he had ever met, besides the Hogwarts teachers, he didn't know what she could or would be capable of.

She strode over. "Wotcher." She said, grinning at him. "My name's Tonks. Well, that's actually my last name, but my parents must have hated me because _I_ hate my first name, so it's just Tonks."

She said all of this very fast. Merry blinked, then, realising that she meant no harm, smiled up at her. "I'm Merry. I'm not that fond of my proper first name either, which is Meriadoc, so I'm usually just known as Merry…except when Frodo's angry at me, then he uses my full name."

She chuckled at that. "You're very small, aren't you. Are you some sort of crossbreed between a human and a goblin?"

Merry gave her an affronted look. "I am not! I'm a hobbit. A Halfling. We're our own race, thank you very much."

She made no reaction upon realising that she had mildly offended him, only shrugging. "A hobbit? Never heard of them. But the fact that you're here must mean Dumbledore's allowed you to be here. I guess I'll hear the story from him later. Anywho, watch this, I think you'll like it."

She pointed at her own face, screwed up her eyes in a way that made Merry wonder if she was in pain. Then, to his surprise, her nose changed shape and morphed into a rabbit-like one. She grinned at him, twitching the nose.

"Wow! How did you do that?" he gasped. Someone came up from behind him. Looking around, he realised it was Legolas.

"Do what?" He asked.

Tonks glared at him, but Merry got the impression that she wasn't serious. "Oh, nothing, my nose always looks like a rabbit's." she made the face again, and her nose returned to normal…but her hair turned an electric blue.

"An appearance changer." Legolas murmured in awe.

Tonks nodded. "I'm a metamorphmagus. It runs in the family. I can change my appearance to quite an extent, which is why even though I'm an absolute klutz I'm an Auror."

"Auror?" Merry asked.

"A Dark Wizard catcher." Tonks said. "A lot of the Order are Aurors or ex-Aurors. It helps with the struggle against You-Know-Who." She then gave Legolas a piercing stare. "What are you, then? You're clearly not human."

Legolas smiled and nodded. "I'm an Elf. Not a House-elf, either, I saw some of their kind at Hogwarts."

Her eyes widened with curiosity. "An Elf? Well, that is something new. I would very much like to hear about Elves."

Legolas looked down at Merry, as if asking if he minded him taking over the conversation. Merry shrugged and nodded. Legolas and Tonks headed off, and Merry looked around to realise that the room was empty.

He thought for a moment before deciding to go and find Pippin. Heading out of the kitchen, he spotted a small grey figure a few metres away. Going closer, Merry realised that it was a House-elf, and the reason why it appeared shorter was because it was bent over with age. Truly it did seem very old. Its grey skin seemed to hang off its bones in folds, and its long, pointy ears drooped low. Its nose was also droopy and skimmed the top of its lip. At Merry's approach, it turned and sneered at him.

"Mud-bloods and half-breeds it was, now all these unnameable foreign _things_ that have been allowed in here. Oh, how my mistress cringes to see such filth in the Noble House of Black."

His guttural mutterings were said as though Merry was invisible. He frowned at the House-elf.

"What are you going on about? Why be so mean?" he asked.

The House-elf made a sound that seemed to be a groan of annoyance, but came out more like a gurgle. "Why does it speak to Kreacher? Kreacher does not want to talk to it. Dirty, filthy, strange things."

"Well, Kreacher must talk to me." Merry snapped. "What's the matter with you? I've met some House-elves, and none of them were nearly as grumpy as you."

At the mention of other House-elves, Kreacher's ears twitched. "Others like Kreacher? House-elves are fading in their duties, but Kreacher remains faithful to this house, to his mistress. If it were up to Kreacher, he would go back to being alone with his mistress."

Merry wished he would actually address him. Kneeling down, to be more like his height – and in the back of his head quite liking the fact that he, for once, had to kneel to talk to someone, rather than the other way around – he said sternly, "Listen, just because people are different, doesn't mean that they're dirty or bad. None of the people in this house mean you or your mistress any harm. I, for one, respect that this house has long belonged to the Black family. So, don't be so rude to the guests that are using this house."

Kreacher stared at him in shock. Then, shaking his head in an almost exasperated gesture, he turned away. "It says strange things, yes it does. Kreacher does not understand why it says such things. It says it respects this Noble House, but it is one of the strangest. What does Kreacher do?" His voice faded as he shuffled away and disappeared into one of the rooms.

Merry sighed. At least he'd put the thought in the strange House-elves mind.

* * *

Frodo had been sitting in his room, reading one of the interesting books Hermione had given him. It was called _Hogwarts: A History_ and he was finding it fascinating to read about the four founders and how the classes had begun. However, after reading through several chapters, with Harry constantly in the back of his mind, he decided to go and approach him.

Exiting his room and going across the hall into the one he knew Harry and Ron shared, he found Harry angrily pacing back and forth. He barely looked up when Frodo entered, sighed, and plopped down harshly onto the bed.

"I want to be alone." He said shortly.

Frodo shook his head. "No, you're going to talk to me." He waited to see if he would respond, but when Harry remained silent, he continued, "What happened?" he asked, worried.

Harry looked up at him. He looked empty inside, like any life had been snuffed out. A walking corpse. "I don't want to talk about it." He said shortly, turning away.

That wouldn't sit with Frodo. He'd let Harry have his quiet time all day, but now he knew that getting him to share it with someone would help. "I know you may not want to, but you must."

Harry heaved a great sigh. "Fine. At the hospital, I overheard…well, we weren't really meant to be listening in, it was Fred and George's idea. But we shouldn't have been kicked out of the room, anyway." He paused again and Frodo waited patiently for him to continue. When he did, it was nearly in a whisper. "They knew. They know that I was the snake. And they know why. It's because…Voldemort is getting inside my head. He's able to be inside me, control me, use me."

Frodo could understand this perfectly, and the fear that was in Harry's voice was familiar to him. He himself had often dreamed or imagined situations where the Ring overtook his mind and forced him to do something evil, like it had when Smeagol had killed his friend Deagol.

Now that Harry had begun, he couldn't stop. "I'm so scared. I feel…tainted. I shouldn't be here. I could hurt anyone, at any moment. What if next time it's Ron, or Hermione. Frodo, I even felt like I wanted to kill Dumbledore! You have to help me get out of here!"

He was breathing heavily, staring at the hobbit with wild eyes. Frodo stared straight back.

"You're not going anywhere." He said first. Then he explained that thoughts of the exact same nature would often run through his mind. "So I have the same fears, but I must not give up, and neither must you. We both must remain strong enough to conquer the evil that has a hold on us. We love and care for our friends deeply. We must always make sure that those feelings triumph over any and all evil notions that we have. I hope I am strong enough to do so, and I have a feeling you are, but if we fail at least no-one can say that we failed without a fight."

Frodo found that he was breathing rather harshly as well with the emotion of his miniature speech. Harry's eyes were wide and stunned. Then, to Frodo's happy surprise, he smiled.

"Thank you, Frodo. How could someone so small be so wise?" He wondered. He blinked several times and his eyes cleared. Frodo got the impression that the worry hadn't completely left him, but then again, it never left the Ring-bearer either.

Frodo smiled, too. "Never underestimate a hobbit by judging them by their size." He answered.

**Hope you all liked that :) I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, but I'm sure it won't be as long as this break. Thanks again to everyone for their support ^_^**

**LOTCR: I'll respond to your reviews with my Doctor Who stories another time, as we know how long our messages get ^_^ Ok, so after reading your review, I'm guessing that we're on a truce now yes? So, the Doctors are the peace organisers. Ok. Well, I haven't pranked Legolas yet, have I? Can't I just do a little prank? Pwease? -gives you the cutest Puss in Boots look and offers you a TARDIS cake where instead of the sign on the door it says I AM sherLOCKED- Ok I'll see what I can do with regards to that :) Glad you're still liking the story!**


	16. Chapter 16

**I know, I make you wait... what, has it been a week?...and I update a short chapter. But I promise the next one will be longer and be up within a few days. I hope everybody enjoys this chapter :) And I would just like to thank the hobbits for their ideas on this chapter, for without them I may not have even updated today ^_^**

The following day, and the days leading up to Christmas were eventful, to say the least. Things happened so fast that it was difficult for Sam to keep up. They were woken the day after the visit to Mr Weasley by the sound of Sirius singing, which surprised all. But when Sam headed downstairs to see what the source of Sirius' merriment was, he found the way was blocked by a snow cloud at the bottom of the stairs.

The culprits were quickly identified as Fred and George, and until a counterspell had been found, everyone who had need to go to the bottom floor of the house got completely chilled. Sam elected to stay upstairs and he insisted that Frodo did as well. He didn't need his master catching a cold. Mrs Weasley went absolutely bonkers, and so pretty much everyone decided to stay upstairs anyway to avoid getting caught up in her wrath.

As a result of this, Pippin spent the rest of that day complaining to anyone who'd listen that he hadn't been told about that prank. Unfortunately, that was usually Sam, until he finally got annoyed and told the annoying Took to go and bother someone else. Merry didn't seem very bothered at all, but he had a mischievous glint in his eyes as he pulled Pippin away from the next person he had latched on to – which was Ron – and they vanished to one of the upstairs rooms for several hours. Sam's eyes followed them, wary of what they were up to.

Harry had been strangely absent the whole day. Sam had clearly heard Mrs Weasley calling up to him when it was lunch time, but she received no response. Sam had no idea why he was being so anti-social, but the Weasley children – along with Frodo – seemed to know what was going on. Ron and Ginny headed upstairs with a plate of sandwiches once Hermione Granger had surprised everyone by arriving at Grimmauld Place. Hermione followed them.

Half an hour later, all four came down and Harry was smiling broadly. No explanation was given, but Ginny was looking very pleased with herself. She winked at Sam and mouthed, "All he had to do was talk to me."

The following day, Merry and Pippin revealed what they had been working on. They had found a box full of thumbtacks in an upstairs room and, apparently, had waited until everyone had gone to bed before strategically placing them on every stair up to the first floor.

If the previous day Mrs Weasley had gone mental, today it was Sam's turn. He barged across the hall into Merry and Pippin's room, finding both fast asleep. Pippin was sprawled in a most uncomfortable position one one bed, the covers half on the floor and his mouth wide open. Merry was curled up in a tight ball beneath his covers and a soft smile graced his face.

Sam ripped the covers off Merry and tickled Pippin's feet. Both yelped awake, looking around for their assailant. Seeing Sam, to his annoyance, they both relaxed.

"Oh, morning, Sam. Did you like our gift?" Merry asked sleepily.

"No, Merry, I did not, and neither did poor Hermione, who stepped on several earlier when she went to get a cup of tea. Mrs Weasley fixed it immediately of course, but it still hurt." He glared at Frodo's cousin, quite surprised that he would do something that would actually cause pain to people.

"That there is exactly why we did it." Pippin piped up gleefully. "We're in a house full of wizards and witches. We knew it wouldn't cause much harm."

That flipped Sam. He dragged first Pippin, then Merry, to their feet and pushed them out the door. They fought, but he enlisted the help of Hermione, who was gingerly walking back up the stairs, careful to avoid all tacks. She looked doubtful when she saw what he was doing, but eventually agreed to help.

Merry and Pippin went tumbling down the stairs, ending in a heap at the bottom and covered in tacks.

"That'll teach you to do anything that hurts people!" Sam snapped, before going back into the room he shared with Frodo.

Frodo looked up from the book he was reading as Sam entered, but said nothing. Sam got the impression that Frodo approved of his method of punishment.

* * *

Aragorn, far removed from the hobbits' shenanigens, although fully aware of what was going on, was in a perpetual state of shock over the days before Christmas.

Between the songs – which he was later told were traditional carols sung around Christmas time – to the decorations, to the overall feeling of warmth and _family _throughout Grimmauld Place, Aragorn didn't know what to do half the time, which was very unlike him.

The reason behind this was simple; Aragorn had never experienced anything like this before. When he lived in Rivendell, there were few celebrations. His birthday was always made note of, as was Arwen's and the twins, but the end of the year went by without anyone being aware of it. The immortal Elves paid little heed to the passing of the years. Then with the Rangers, celebrations all but ceased. Aragorn kept count of the days and once or twice went to an inn in the Northfarthing for a drink on his birthday, accompanied by a group of the Dunedain, but that was the extent of it.

Now, in an atmosphere of song and colour and warmth, Aragorn felt stunned. At first he felt out of place, but by Christmas Eve, the feeling had vanished to be replaced with a strong desire to join in the festivities. He had helped put up some of the decorations and planned on making sure the four hobbits – the two younger ones, especially – were on their best behaviour the following day. Luckily, he hadn't been a victim of Merry and Pippin's thumbtacks, but he had made it clear to them that he had not approved.

He found himself next to Sirius in the packed to the roof kitchen. Frodo and the Weasleys were chatting a short distance away, fortunate enough to have grabbed seats at the table, while Merry and Pippin had discovered the wizard drink Firewhisky…Aragorn kept a stern eye on them.

"Are you okay?"

Aragorn turned, surprised at the concerned note in Sirius' voice. The other Man gave him a sly smile.

"I am fine." He replied, then he let his gaze roam over the rest of the room's occupants. "It is just very different for me, this whole Christmas experience."

"Don't you have anything like it where you come from?" Sirius asked.

Aragorn shook his head. "Not that I've ever celebrated. The hobbits have Yule, and Men do have similar celebrations – such as the Summer and Winter Solstices – but I seem to never have been in the right place or time to participate."

"Ah." Sirius said. "Well, in that case, you should relax and enjoy yourself, rather than looking like you're being hunted."

"It is not for my own safety that I look this way." Aragorn replied. "But for the hobbits'."

"The little ones?"

"Yes." Aragorn briefly filled Sirius in on the four hobbits in question, including telling him about Frodo and the Ring because he felt it only fair; after all, Sirius and the other members of the Order had shared some of their secrets with the Fellowship.

Sirius laughed at the end of the tale. "I now see why it is so important to keep watch over them. They sound like more trouble than Harry, Ron and Hermione."

Aragorn smiled. "Well, Merry and Pippin, Pippin especially, get into more mischief than I think all of their ancestors did together. Frodo, unfortunately, has become a danger magnet since carrying the Ring. And poor Sam just gets dragged along for the ride. Still, there is bravery and courage more than many Men in all of them, even young Pippin. One day, they will get the chance to show it."

Just as he said that, as if the Took had heard him and wanted to prove him wrong, Pippin jumped up onto the table and started singing about the Shire's various inns, his voice rising above the carols that various decorations had been charmed to sing. Aragorn couldn't help but laugh.

**Quick note: the comment on the Winter and Summer Solstices...well, I don't know if those celebrations exist in Tolkien's universe, but in my mind they do as it is based on medieval Europe and those celebrations did exist then, so I think it works. Now for the review responses!**

**LOTCR (1st review): Yes, we have a truce :) And it is kinda weird that you preferred 9 over 11, but then again, 9 doesn't get enough love. I just loved 11 and 10 too much, though, and now 12 has grown on me too :) I'll get to Legolas later. In regards to the rest of your review, um...no, it's not bad, just a bit strange. But that's ok :) I would be in either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, and that's what most of the tests I've taken say. I did have fun, but I'm back now :) I'm glad you liked that Harry and Frodo part, I really enjoyed writing it. Also, I know you read Traumas of the Past (thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked it ^_^) but I just wanted to let you know that I've also written two other stories, Loss and Pains of the Passage, so if you or anyone else would like to read those I would really appreciate it ^_^**

**(2nd review): You are completely forgiven and it's fine. I wouldn't be quite as extreme, but I would be similar with the 10th Doctor. Thanks so much for reading my DW stories, btw ^_^ No need to be sad and no need to keep being sorry. Now you're SOUNDING like the 10th Doctor lol. I promise, it's fine. Now, forget it and Allons-y!**

**King Webb: Well, as you can see I have included Aragorn's pov in this chapter, but the story does focus on the hobbits with appearances from other characters only when necessary. And, if you want me to go to other characters, then just Aragorn's pov wouldn't make things better, but Gimli's and Legolas' as well. I won't be doing many parts in Aragorn's pov, and that's mainly because I don't know him as well as I know the hobbits and Golden Trio, so I wouldn't want it to sound crappy. I hope you understand and continue to read and enjoy this story ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!**

**To everyone else, thank you for being patient and continue supporting this story. Hopefully I will update soon. Don't forget to PM me any ideas, or leave them in reviews if you are a guest. Thanks, and bye ^_^**


	17. Chapter 17

**Well, not too long between chapters this time. This chapter is mostly fun and Christmas cheer, but has a bit of seriousness at its end. I need to remind everyone that there is the background issue of how to get back to Middle-earth. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter :) Also, I would like to credit Aria Breuer and the hobbits for quite a few of the gift ideas in this chapter. Yes, the hobbits helped, too :)**

The following morning was Christmas morning.

Frodo opened his eyes to see a small mound of presents at the end of his bed. He sat bolt upright, his mouth hanging open in shock. He knew that Christmas, like Yule, meant the giving of presents, but he didn't expect anything.

Looking to his left, he saw another pile on Sam's bed.

"Sam, wake up!" he called.

The blonde hobbit sat up straight, eyes wide, "What is it, Mr Frodo, what's the matter?"

Frodo laughed at his reaction, pleased that the reason for Sam's alertness was no longer necessary. "Look at the end of your bed. Presents!"

Sam stared and at his expression Frodo chuckled again, before turning his attention to his own pile. Grabbing the closest brightly wrapped item to his hands, he looked at the label – finding out that it was from Mrs Weasley - before carefully taking the paper off.

It was a woollen jumper, deep blue in colour, perfectly hobbit-sized and with a letter 'F' on the front. Grinning, he put it on. Sam was also wearing one. His was a dark, earthy brown and, as expected, was embroidered with a neat 'S'.

Frodo worked his way through the rest of the small pile. Merry and Pippin had given him a huge bag of sweets from Honeydukes. Hermione's was a brand new copy of Hogwarts: A History. A small model of a Quidditch player on a broom that actually flew around his hand was from the four Weasley children. He didn't even know when they'd had time to get these things for him, and tears sprang to his eyes at the thoughtfulness, though he'd only known them all for a week.

Sam's gift blew Frodo away. It was a piece of parchment. On it were flowing verses in Sindarin written in Bilbo's easily recognisable script. After a moment, Frodo identified it as the Lay of Luthien, that Aragorn had mentioned to him. Surrounding the writing were delicate colour paintings of vines and flowers.

"Sam, this is beautiful. When did you get this done?"

Sam looked up, seeing what Frodo had in his hands. "In Rivendell. I didn't know when I would give it to you, but I thought I'd ask Mr Bilbo to do it anyway. I hope you like it."

Frodo smiled at Sam's anticipated expression. He worried too much. "I love it. Thank you."

The last present was from Harry. It was small, and upon opening it, he saw that it was a pin-on badge in the shape of the Hogwarts crest, in full colour with detailed carvings of each of the four Houses' animals.

Without hesitation, he fixed the badge to his chest. He then went over to see what Sam had gotten. Among other things, Ginny Weasley had given him a long-titled book on magical plants, a sweet bag from Merry and Pippin and a Gryffindor scarf from Ron. He thanked Frodo for the new pipe he had given him. Frodo had actually intended to give it away on his birthday, but didn't have anything else for Christmas.

They spent the rest of the morning leading up to Christmas dinner finding out what everyone else's presents were and thanking those who had given them. Merry and Pippin, as expected, had received a bunch of prank items from Fred and George, and a neatly wrapped fruitcake to share from Mrs Weasley. From the twins, Aragorn had been given a pocket Sneakoskope – a top-like device which lit up and spun when someone untrustworthy was about – and Boromir received a framed picture of the Black family crest from Sirius. Frodo thought that was quite a strange gift, but Boromir assured him that he was grateful as he had been fascinated with the family's history. Legolas had a book on the history of House-elves from Hermione. Ron and Harry had given both Gimli and Legolas moving pictures of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, featuring the two boys themselves.

To Frodo's amusement, everyone else had also gotten jumpers knitted by Mrs Weasley, each in colours that suited the individual and with the letter of their name on the front. Merry's was green, Pippin's a paler blue than Frodo's, Gimli's maroon, Legolas' pale silver, Aragorn's pale green and Boromir's red. Gandalf, unsurprisingly, was not wearing one, although he did show up with a blue scarf wrapped around his neck and fairy lights decorating his staff.

The whole house was warm and full of happy voices, although Frodo was told that before he woke up, Mrs Weasley had been in a state as Percy – her son who worked in the Ministry – had sent back his jumper. In truth, he did notice that her eyes were a bit puffy, but she put on a smiling face. Harry, too, seemed the happiest Frodo had seen him. The Weasleys and Harry left not long after Frodo came downstairs to visit Mr Weasley again. Once again, the Fellowship declined the offer to accompany them.

Hobbits were always light on their feet, but Frodo felt almost as though he could take flight at any moment. The whole atmosphere reminded him of home, of the Shire. He was able to forget about the quest, forget about the Ring. The Ring itself even lightened up; somehow it didn't feel quite so heavy or quite so evil.

The actual Christmas dinner would not be had until after the Weasleys returned, but Mrs Weasley had prepared multiple platters and dishes to fill them all up until then. The food also reminded Frodo of the Shire, although there were some differences in fruits and flavours. He was delighted to find plenty of potatoes and mushrooms available, and eagerly joined his fellow hobbits in the minor feast.

* * *

Gandalf, after helping himself to decent sized helpings of everything from the table, retreated to the back of the kitchen and leaned against a wall. While he ate, he thought over the last few days.

He had been avoiding the hobbits. In fact, he was surprised that one of them hadn't noticed by now and confronted him. The reason behind this was that he knew he had to explain to them about the situation; how they had gotten to the Wizarding World, and their slim options as to getting back. For they must, of course, get back. Though time passed slower in Middle-earth while they were here, time _was_ passing, and each minute wasted was another death sentence for countless people.

Yet how to break the news to them? Gandalf let his eyes roam over the four hobbits now. Pippin was attempting to make Sam laugh and relax a bit more by arranging the food on his plate into a face. Gandalf rolled his eyes, but chuckled at the Took's antics. Merry was talking to Gimli, his face alight with mirth at whatever the Dwarf was saying.

And Frodo…well, Frodo looked the happiest and lightest Gandalf had seen him since before Bilbo's birthday. His face was alight with laughter at whatever a witch with bubble-gum pink hair – one of the members of the Order who had arrived that morning – was telling him. Gandalf smiled somewhat sadly. How could he take them all, Frodo especially, away from this freedom and happiness?

But he had to, for though he loved the hobbits dearly, the fate of Middle-earth was more important. And that thought pained him. He was just resolving to tell them the day after Boxing Day, when someone came and stood next to him.

"And here I thought I was the only one who would go into deep thought on Christmas Day." A gruff voice said.

Gandalf turned to find Mad-Eye Moody, well…his real first name was Alastor. Dumbledore had told him about the ex-Auror. Gandalf came up with an idea to solve an issue that had been bothering him for a while.

"Well, I have a just reason for it." Gandalf replied, watching the way Moody's magical eye flickered from each person in the room, to each possible weapon in the room, and back again. "I trust you know who I am?"

"Dumbledore mentioned you." Moody answered shortly, which Gandalf presumed meant that he knew everything. "And the others. He didn't say how you came to be here, but I've learned that asking Dumbledore too many questions will get you nowhere."

Gandalf smiled slightly; that had been the same even before Albus had left Middle-earth. "Well then, Alastor, I have a favour to ask of you. We need to get back to where we came from, and soon, so while Dumbledore and I are doing the best we can, you have access to things we do not. Do you think you could investigate ways to open an inter-dimensional portal?"

Moody stared at him, with both of his eyes. "A what?"

Gandalf spent the next ten minutes explaining Dumbledore's theory on travel to and from Middle-earth. Once done, he added, "So we either need another portal back, or we need to come up with another method. It is essential we return to Middle-earth within no more than two weeks."

"I'll do what I can." Moody pledged, with a nod. "I'm sure there's something in the Department of Mysteries on that."

With that, Gandalf returned his attention to the hobbits. That's when he noticed that Pippin was choking.

**I haven't done a cliffhanger for a while. Don't kill me. But I'll make sure I update soon. Please review if you liked this story, as it helps me with my writing to hear what people have to say. **

**Guest: Thank you very much, I hope you liked this chapter. Well, as you know he played one prank on Malfoy, so when they get back to Hogwarts he will start up again. And lets not forget Umbridge :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry for the cliffhanger last time, everyone :) But don't worry, as you will find out, Pippin will be fine. Both some seriousness and some fun in this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy as always. Also note: the Whizzing Worms mentioned in this chapter do exist in the Harry Potter universe. They were mentioned in the Prisoner of Azkaban and officially confirmed as a joke item on Pottermore. ^_^**

The other three hobbits surrounded Pippin as the young Took clawed at his mouth, turning purple as he struggled to breathe. Aragorn shoved his way through the crowd, not caring who he pushed, and instantly was able to see the source of Pippin's breathing problems.

His tongue – well, Aragorn could only presume it was his tongue – had swollen up and extended to resemble a huge purple leech pouring out of his mouth. It had swollen up so much that it filled his airway completely. Aragorn didn't know what to do; this had to be something magical. No-one else had been affected, so it wasn't poison in the food or drink.

Pippin's eyes were rolling back into his head. His struggles to get air inside his lungs began to resemble a seizure in their intensity.

"Strider!" Merry screamed, tears glistening in his eyes. "Do something!"

"Please!" Frodo added, looking close to breaking down himself as he joined the others in trying to push down the monstrous tongue so Pippin could at least get one breath. Even as Aragorn watched, the youngest hobbit went limp. In a split second, the greatest panic Aragorn had felt for a long time seized him; he was completely helpless. Being experienced in the healing arts, Aragorn had convinced himself that one never gave up hope, for there was always something to be done.

Now, he could only stand there and watch as Pippin very obviously slipped away.

"Out of the way!"

The wizard who Aragorn remembered was Mad-eye Moody broke into the circle of onlookers, Gandalf at his side looking alarmed, pulled out a wand and pointed it sharply at Pippin's huge tongue, muttering something under his breath.

The tongue started shrinking immediately. Within twenty seconds, it was almost back to its normal size. Aragorn knew he could act now. He knew what to do. The other three hobbits moved out of his way as he dived for Pippin, blocking his nose and giving him breath, willing the Took to come back to them.

Three breaths later, it worked. A fit of coughing alerted Aragorn to Pippin's life, and he retreated as Merry gently turned Pippin onto his side.

"I'll slay those twins alive!" Moody suddenly shouted amongst the cries of relief.

Aragorn looked up, shocked. The twins? Fred and George did this?

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Their ridiculous experimental sweets." Moody snapped, livid; a look that was heightened by the magical eye whizzing all over the place. "They haven't perfected them all yet and they should NOT be giving away any that they are not one hundred and fifty percent sure on!"

Right on cue, they all heard the door open.

* * *

Everything was hazy to Pippin for several minutes as the coughing finally subsided and he worked on breathing normally again. His throat hurt, but not as much as it did before. Pushing himself into a sitting position, he found himself instantly squashed by three hugs.

"Oh, little Pip!" Frodo cried, grinning broadly in relief.

Merry pulled back and smacked him on the arm. "You….you…fool!"

Pippin looked down. "I know."

"The note said: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU TRY. Why couldn't you have waited until they got back?" Merry demanded. "Imagine it. After everything we've been through, you nearly died from eating a toffee!"

Even though the situation wasn't funny…it was. The absurdity of what just happened, or what nearly happened, had Pippin trying and failing to stop the laughter that rose in his recently recovered throat. After a moment, Merry and Frodo joined in, with Sam just smiling and shaking his head.

Merry was referring to a small bag of sweets that Fred and George had given him and Pippin. The note had warned them, but it had been attached to the entire wrapped-up present, so Pippin presumed it meant the joke supplies that were also part of the gift. Never did he think that a sweet would be deadly.

Someone yelling made him look up.

"…COULD'VE KILLED HIM! WHAT IF SOMEONE FROM THE ORDER ATE ONE? WHAT IF THERE WAS NO ONE AROUND WHO KNEW THE COUNTER SPELL?" It was Moody.

The look on the twins' faces was clear; they felt extremely guilty and regretful for not making the warning clearer. Pippin could tell, because usually when Mrs Weasley yelled at them – an occurrence he had seen a couple of times – they waved her argument off and gave vague excuses. Now, they stood silent as statues, before being released and heading over.

"Are you alright?" Fred asked.

Pippin nodded. He was breathing fine again. "Now I am, yeah. What _was_ that?"

"Ton-tongue Toffee." George answered in a small voice. "They're part of our Skiving Snackboxes range. Sweets that make you appear ill for about five minutes so you can skip class. We thought you might have a use for them, or you could give them to unsuspecting friends – or enemies. It's true that we haven't got it perfect yet, but in the summer holidays we gave some to Harry's cousin and it didn't suffocate him. If we'd have thought that one of those sweets could actually kill you, we wouldn't have given them to you." He looked down.

Pippin couldn't be angry at them; in their situation, he probably would have thought the same. He grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, the point is, I'm fine now. At least you know that those toffees aren't right."

Both twins appeared glad that Pippin didn't seem to blame them, although Merry did shoot them looks throughout the rest of the day.

Next, Pippin was fussed over by Mrs Weasley, asked if he was warm enough, checked to see if he was in shock, and asked a number of other questions that Pippin just answered 'yes' and 'no' to. After receiving a warm hug from her, he was finally released to turn his attention back to the food.

Only to find that the table was now empty in anticipation of the Christmas dinner.

* * *

If the table spread of that morning was amazing, the actual dinner was nothing short of magnificent. Three huge turkeys full of stuffing and swimming in platters of potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, Brussels sprouts and gravy. A leg of lamb also coated in gravy with small pots of mint sauce around it. Steaming platters of cauliflower with a gooey cheese sauce, tureens of even more gravy and plenty of firewhisky, mead, juice and Butterbeer.

To Merry, it was heaven. The second Mrs Weasley said, "Tuck in." he dived for a plate and the only person who filled theirs faster was Pippin. They both retreated to the back wall, as all the chairs were filled with the rest of the Fellowship and the Weasleys. After several mouthfuls, Merry was surprised when Pippin revealed that he had been doing a lot more thinking than normal since nearly dying.

"Merry, how exactly are we going to get back to Middle-earth?"

In that one question, Merry's respect for Pippin grew tremendously and he fully noticed how much his young cousin had grown since they had left the Shire. The fact that Pippin had understood and accepted the need to get back to Middle-earth eventually was something that Merry would not have imagined him capable of.

He answered as honestly as he could. "I don't know, Pip. Really, I don't. I don't even know how we got here. But I bet Gandalf does. I wonder why he hasn't been sharing anything with us." As he spoke, he looked over at the Wizard, noticing that Gandalf did look slightly guilty.

"I know what you mean." Pippin agreed. "He did spend a lot of time with that Dumbledore when we were at Hogwarts, didn't he? Surely they would have some idea."

"I agree."

There was more silence as they continued to devour the glorious food, Merry mentally reminding himself to thank Mrs Weasley once they were done. Then he felt a mischievous grin grow on his face as he had a brilliant idea.

"Hey, Pippin." He nudged his cousin. "Why don't we test out some of those Whizzing Worms that Fred and George gave us?"

"On who?" Pippin asked, eyes lighting up at the thought of another prank.

Merry looked around at all the potential victims in the room, before deciding one someone who hadn't been pranked for far too long.

"Frodo."

Pippin nodded, before quickly finishing his plate and running upstairs to get the packet. When he returned, he handed it to Merry before occupying Frodo by asking him more about what his gifts were. Merry walked past and poured a small amount of the crystalline powder within the packet into Frodo's glass of Butterbeer just as he was about to raise it to his lips.

"Argh!"

Frodo's cry of disgust made anyone within two metres of him turn around in surprise as Frodo held his glass away at arm's length…the glass that was now overflowing with Butterbeer-coloured worms.

Merry and Pippin couldn't help but burst into laughter at the look on Frodo's face.

"Why am I not surprised?" Frodo asked, somewhat wearily, as Fred – who had been talking to him before the incident – pointed his wand at the Butterbeer and removed the worms. The twins were also laughing and shooting Merry and Pippin approving looks. Frodo put the cup down, but he was now grinning.

"Sorry, Frodo." Merry said between laughs. "But we needed to try those out on someone."

"And you were the best option." Pippin added.

Frodo finally gave in to the hilarity of the situation and chuckled, shaking his head at them.

"Well done." Was all he said, before making sure to get a fresh glass of Butterbeer.

**Once again, I hope everyone enjoyed that. All harmless Christmas fun...mostly. Until next time :) **


	19. Chapter 19

**I know it's a short chapter after so long, but I've had some major computer issues. All fixed now, thank goodness. Also, the next chapter goes into the first week of Hogwarts, so I had to end this one here. Hope you all enjoy :) And thank you to all the reviewers, followers, etc :)**

The next two days saw the four hobbits spending every waking moment trying to corner Gandalf, for Merry had informed Frodo and Sam of Pippin's wonderings. However, to their annoyance, the Wizard proved to be very elusive. He was very rarely seen, and if caught, he would come up with some excuse and haughtily brush them off.

"This is getting ridiculous." Frodo said to the others, as the day after Boxing Day drew to a close. They stood near the fireplace in the kitchen. Pippin was absently playing with Frodo's Sneakaskope, Merry desperately trying to come up with a strategy to catch Gandalf and Sam looked as though he didn't really want a confrontation with the Wizard at all. "I can't imagine how bad it is that he doesn't want to tell us. Surely we can't be stuck here?"

"Quite the opposite, young hobbit."

The Wizard in question seemed to just appear behind them, and all four hobbits jumped. Frodo's hand was grabbed by Merry seconds before he barbequed himself in the fire and he frowned up at Gandalf.

"We've been trying to talk to you for days. Why have you been avoiding us?"

Gandalf sighed wearily and Frodo felt his anger soften at the sorrowful expression on his aged friend's face. "Gandalf? What's the matter?"

"Exactly what I said. The issue is not that we are to remain perpetually in this world. Although Albus and I do not yet have a way to return, we are confident that it will not be long before we do. The issue, my little friends, is that we _will_ return to Middle-earth, for we have to."

"Why is that an issue, sir?" Sam asked. "We all know that we have to go back."

Gandalf gave him a smile, and there was admiration in his eyes. "I do understand that, Samwise. Only, I see you all enjoying yourselves so much here and I am loathe to remove you from this happiness. I am sure you are all aware that we have not gone through the greatest of trials yet." He looked meaningfully at Frodo's chest, where the Ring hung hidden beneath his shirt.

Frodo nodded. "I know we all understand that, Gandalf. I will not deny that this little rest has done us all good." He turned and smiled at the others, who nodded their agreement with him. "But Middle-earth suffers every day and we are the only ones who can alleviate that problem, by destroying this." He pulled the Ring out to emphasise his point.

Gandalf nodded solemnly. "Very well." And he proceeded to tell them of his discussions with Dumbledore, how they had gotten here and what they were working on to get back. "We are not sure how long it will be until we can return, but it is a matter of urgency, of course."

Merry nodded. "Well, instead of treating us like children, it might be better to tell us what is going on before we have to try and capture you."

That got a laugh out of the Wizard, who smiled at them.

* * *

Within a week, the date for them to return back to Hogwarts arrived. Hermione could tell that Harry, more than all of them, was dreading it. Then Professor Snape came and told Harry that he was to conduct Occlumency tests with him, which dampened his spirits even more. However, Hermione tried to tell him how good it was, that maybe soon he would stop having those horrific dreams.

She also noticed that after the meeting, Sirius was acting odd. He seemed tense and angry at everyone except Harry. She asked Harry what was wrong, but was only told that Sirius and Snape had a 'disagreement'. It worried her to think what that was. However, the arrival of Mr Weasley, completely cured, on the same day took Sirius and Snape off her mind. Everyone was glad to have him back.

She had made the effort to get to know the other members of the Fellowship better. Aragorn, she found, was a very intelligent man. He knew a lot about Elves and the Middle-earth-Man history, and they spent hours together where Hermione would just drink up the knowledge, memorising as much as she could. Gimli was rough, but friendly enough and, though they didn't talk much, they got on well. Boromir treated her like a lady, which made her feel quite embarrassed. He seemed to behave that way to Mrs Weasley, Ginny and Tonks, too.

Out of the hobbits, Hermione found that she enjoyed talking to Frodo the most. Merry was also full of interesting stories, but he and Pippin were a bit too much like Fred and George in their mischievousness for her liking. Sam was quite shy. She tried to ease him out of his shell a few times, but failed.

The day came. Tonks and Lupin were going with them on the Knight bus, to escort them back to Hogwarts. The Fellowship's goodbye to Mr and Mrs Weasley, Sirius and the other Order members was a sad one, as it was almost certain they wouldn't see them again. Soon, they were all zooming through the country at a ridiculous speed, stopping a couple of times to let off passengers.

It was an interesting trip that Hermione did not want to be repeating anytime soon.

Soon, they were dropped off outside the gates and they said their goodbyes to Lupin and Tonks and started trudging up the snow-covered path to the castle.

Hermione was just thinking about whether or not she had found enough time to study while at Grimmauld Place - it was their OWL year, after all - when something wet and cold hit her from behind. Turning with a glare already on her face, she was met with another one that hit her directly between the eyes. Shaking the snow out of her eyelashes and wiping the rest off with her sleeve, she stared daggers at the culprit: the twins.

Within seconds, everyone else got involved and a snowball fight began around her. As handfuls of cold flew towards and past her from every direction, Hermione dived out of the line of fire. Usually, she would have told everyone off for this, as they were bound to be in trouble if they were caught. Besides, it was a pointless waste of time. However, she could see how happy everyone was at the fun, so she decided that she would join in, if only to get the twins back.

It seemed to be Fellowship against students, and soon both sides had a high snow barrier on either side of the path. Gandalf and Sam were the only two not participating; the Wizard managed to make sure he and the hobbit didn't get hit.

After a little while, even Hermione had to admit, it was a lot of fun. Though normally uncoordinated with sports of any kind, she found that she could aim her snowballs pretty well and flung one right into Gimli's beard.

"Argh! I'll get you for that one, lassie!" He cried and Hermione squealed and ducked behind their barrier.

Ron collapsed next to her from a large snowball thrown with perfect aim by Legolas. She grinned down at his snow-covered form, and he glared back up at her.

Then things got really crazy. The twins started using magic to throw gigantic snowballs and make their wall impenetratable. As much as Hermione wanted their side to win, she didn't approve of cheating, and said so. However, as usual, she was waved off, which only served to frustrate her more. Suddenly the game wasn't so fun.

"No fair!" Came Pippin's voice as he climbed out of the hobbit-sized snow pile. "Gandalf! Do something!"

In a second, Fred was down. Hermione looked over at Gandalf, but he shook his head and pointed to Frodo, who was laughing his head off. But it was only a distraction, because the next thing they knew, a huge snowball the size of a car was crashing down onto them. Gandalf had rescued his team.

No-one cared. When Hermione clawed her way out of the snow, everyone was laughing at their ridiculous predicament. She huffed in exasperation and wished she had gotten out of the way of Gandalf's attack: after all it wasn't _her_ who had been cheating.

Everyone was very cold, so a wave of their wands made the ground level again, and they resumed their trek to the castle, leaving no evidence behind. Occasionally, a comment would be made about a particularly good shot, which would bring the thrower or victim to giggles once again. Maybe it really had done good. Harry was smiling and laughing, which was a right side better than yesterday, so Hermione let it slide. Anything to see her best friend happy.

**I know, that was quite random at the end...kill me, it was fun. Guest reviews:**

**Guest #1: Here it is :)**

**Guest #2: Well, I've finally updated. Thanks a lot for the ideas, I will be using some of those :) From now on you will be referred to as Guest #2 so people know who I'm thanking for the ideas when they turn up.**

**Alrighty then, till next time which should be in a couple of days :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**I know, it has been way too long and I'm really sorry. I'd lost inspiration for this story but I think I've gotten it back now. There's not too much more to go anyway. I hope you can all forgive me :) A bit of fun this chapter. The scene involving Umbridge is partially inspired by the Hillywood Show's video "The Order of Umbridge". I highly recommend it and their other videos to other HP/DW/SPN/LOTR/PotC/Hunger Games fans, as those two sisters are just...brilliant! Enjoy!**

The next morning found the students returning to school. Before classes started, the Fellowship were stopped by Dumbledore on their way out of the Great Hall.

"Good morning." Dumbledore greeted them all, smiling at them. "Now, I believe you are all wondering about what to do during the remainder of your stay at Hogwarts, is that correct?"

Gandalf nodded. "We do not wish to interfere with the students or teachers."

Dumbledore began handing out pieces of parchment with times and classes written on them. "These are the fifth year schedules. I am giving you permission to observe any classes you wish to, provided you stand at the back and do not interfere with the lesson." There was a twinkle in his eyes as he said that and Legolas noticed that his eyes flicked from Merry and Pippin to where it clearly said, 'Defence Against the Dark Arts' on the parchment. "If you wish to view other years' schedules, I would be happy to provide them."

"No, thank you very much, we should be fine." Aragorn said, nodding to Dumbledore who turned and headed up the Grand Staircase. "So...the first class is History of Magic. I would be quite keen to attend that one."

Legolas agreed, as did Gimli, Gandalf, Aragorn and Frodo. The hobbit's eyes were alight with curiosity, which made Legolas smile. Boromir and the three hobbits decided to go and visit Hagrid during the first period, but would return for Potions as Boromir, Merry and Pippin were quite keen to attend. Legolas suspected the latter two would stir up mischief for Snape, but let it slide.

As the group of five headed towards the fourth floor, they melded into the flow of students also on their way to the class. Legolas spotted Hermione's mane of hair and called out to her.

She grabbed Harry and Ron and held them back until they joined the reduced Fellowship.

"Ooh, has Dumbledore allowed you to come to classes with us?" Hermione asked eagerly.

Aragorn nodded. "He has indeed. I am very grateful. This world is so different from our own that I am looking forward to learning about its history."

Harry and Ron shared a look and Ron said, "The teacher for this subject is a ghost. We think he doesn't even realise that he's dead! He just gets up every morning, drones on and on about goblin riots and other boring stuff, then goes back to sleep again. Hardly anyone pays attention in his class, except for Hermione of course."

Hermione shot him an annoyed look. "It really isn't all that difficult. You just listen and make notes."

"Yeah, which I would do if he didn't sound like he was going to go to sleep any minute! It's a wonder you even understand what he's saying!" Ron retorted.

"Well, if we decide that the Professor is...boring, as you say, then we are free to leave." Legolas interjected before the argument got any more heated.

They all trouped into the classroom. The students took their seats at the desks, while the members of the Fellowship either stood or sat at the back.

True enough, straight through the blackboard behind the teacher's desk came the ghost of a man who looked so old and withered that it was a wonder he had ever been alive.

He started talking in a slow, droning voice, sounding as though he was picking up directly from the last lesson...something about Giant Wars.

Legolas was used to hearing histories represented in songs or told in elegant Elf voices; though he found the subject interesting and was very curious to learn more, it was actually a bit of an effort to pay attention. However, he did so, noticing that few of the others were succeeding.

Gimli began nodding off into his beard after about five minutes, while Aragorn and Gandalf tried to look interested, Legolas could see that the Wizard's eyes, at least, wandered. Frodo, it seemed, was the only other one who was actually attempting to listen. Legolas smiled inwardly; the hobbit's fascination and thirst for knowledge was one of the many traits he admired in Frodo, and he hoped that once the Ring was destroyed he would have the chance to share the millennia of years of Elf history.

The forty-five minute period went by surprisingly slowly. When the bell rang, every student except Hermione ran to the door as though there was a dragon in the room. The Fellowship followed closely behind, stickng to Harry, Ron and Hermione like before.

"Well, it wasn't quite as bad as Ron described." Frodo announced.

"I found it quite interesting." Aragorn agreed, although Legolas suspected he had more to say, but didn't want to say it.

"What's next?" Gimli asked.

Legolas looked down at the parchment in his hand with the schedule written on it. "Potions."

"Let's go and see if any of the others want to join us." Gandalf suggested.

"Well, I know I'm going to leave you now." Gimli said, slowing down. "I am not overly interested in potion-making, nor am I keen to be in the room with this Snape character that we've heard so much about."

"I agree about Snape." Frodo murmured. "But I do really want to know what sort of potions can be made."

"I'm sure the other hobbits will want to come along. Let us go and find them quickly." Legolas said.

* * *

Merry had thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Hagrid's, as the giant of a man was a kind person who – despite the drastic size difference – reminded him of an uncle in Buckland.

He had _not_ enjoyed the toffees Hagrid had served them. His teeth had been glued together and, as they left Hagrid's hut and began walking up to the school in time for the next period, he was forever trying to unstick the toffee from his teeth. Pippin kept teasing him and telling him it looked like he was sucking his thumb.

"Hey!"

He looked up to see Frodo waving at him from the stone circle. He waved back.

"Next class is Potions. Are you coming?" Frodo asked once they reached him.

Merry nodded, still not quite able to speak. Frodo cast him an odd look, but decided not to question it.

It turned out that they all wanted to go, although Sam was quite reluctant considering what they all knew about Professor Snape. Still, his curiosity got the better of him.

Luckily, that Potions lesson went by without anything more interesting than a boy called Seamus Finnigan setting fire to his tie. Snape was quite mean to Harry, but Merry knew from Harry himself that it was normal.

No-one except Legolas, Aragorn and Gandalf were all too interested in Divination. Frodo and Boromir accompanied Hermione to Ancient Runes. Gimli, Pippin and Sam found the Weasley twins, who had a free period, until the class they were waiting for the most: Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Oh, so you're allowed to stand in on classes, are you?" Fred asked as soon as Merry explained what they had been doing that day. "Well, you've got Umbridge next." He turned and shared an identical grin with his twin. "Give her Hell from us."

Merry nodded, grinning as well. He and Pippin had already been planning to, as they knew they could get away with it; there was no power that Umbridge had over them. He had heard enough about her from the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione...so it was time to have some fun.

The time came. The four hobbits were the only ones who were willing to endure Umbridge's class. The others either weren't interested after being informed that no spellwork was done and nothing interesting ever happened, but they suspected what Merry and Pippin were up to.

Even Gandalf wished them luck.

Entering the class, the hobbits stayed quiet as Umbridge told everybody to sit down and put their wands away. She then instructed which chapter of a boring-titled book they would be reading.

Merry raised his hand.

"Professor, do we have to read it, too?"

She blinked at him. She was so short that she barely had to look down at him.

"Are you a member of this class?" She asked curtly, her voice light but her eyes betraying utter annoyance. She probably hated the fact that Dumbledore let them watch her class, which only made Merry more determined to mess it up.

He sighed dramatically. "Of course we're not, but what if we want to read it? Do you have extra copies?"

She regarded him coolly. "I do. They are in that drawer." She pointed with her wand to a drawer very near Merry.

He didn't look at it. "I didn't want to read it, I just wanted to know where they were."

Her eyes narrowed. "Mr..."

"Brandybuck." Merry announced proudly.

"Mr Brandybuck, unless you have something to contribute to this class, I suggest you remain silent and allow the students to study."

Merry nodded.

Five minutes later, Pippin raised his hand.

"Are you a hobbit?"

Her face went slightly red and she looked as though she was taking a deepbreath. Merry noticed that Frodo was looking down, trying hard not to laugh.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked, her voice now quite curt with annoyance.

"I said, are you a hobbit, Professor? You may be a tall one, but you're not far off. You've even got curly hair..." Pippin looked as though he was really studying Umbridge's appearance.

She bristled. "I most certainly am not a hobbit. I am a human being, a witch!"

Merry could tell that she was really hating the fact that detention was out of the question.

Several students were laughing under their breath.

"Oh, then you're obviously a Dwarf, just without the beard." Merry added. "I've got to be right this time, Professor...what's your name again? Dumbridge?"

She marched up to him as fast as her stumpy legs allowed. Her skin could now barely be distinguished from her stupid pink robes and hat.

"Get out of my classroom, please. Now." She hissed quietly, still trying to sound polite but failing utterly.

Merry stared at her, eyes boggling, as though she had just said the craziest thing in the world.

"How are we meant to learn _anything_ if we can't watch?"

She snapped.

"Get. Out!"

Laughing, all four hobbits scurried out of the classroom. Even Sam gave in and began chuckling, congratulating Merry and Pippin on their work.

When even the shyest, most rule-abiding hobbit in the Shire laughed at a prank, you knew the person on the receiving end of that prank deserved it. Umbridge would rue the day she ever laid eyes on the hobbits.

**I REALLY enjoyed writing that last scene. Go Merry and Pippin! There's more to come for Umbridge next chapter :) Hee hee. If anyone has any ideas for pranks against her, or any ideas for other things in this story, please do share. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Yay, another chapter! A bit more fun with Umbridge to follow in this chapter. The main idea was one given to me by Aria Breuer many weeks ago, and I thought that now was a good time to use it. I hope everyone enjoys this, because it was fun to write. After all, who doesn't enjoy making Umbridge look like a fool? :)**

Plotting to help Harry and the others bring down the Pink Menace, as Pippin proudly announces she would henceforth be called, begun the very next day. Instead of following the rest of the Fellowship around the classes, Merry and Pippin discussed possible pranks and tricks to play on her. They also collaborated with Fred and George whenever the twins were free and soon the four of them had a plan.

It was Fred's idea but they all had parts to play. They waited until Friday, which was the next Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

Harry, upon hearing that they had a plan - but not what it was - eagerly leant them his Invisibility Cloak; a truly wondrous piece of fabric that literally made the wearer invisible. So, come Friday, Pippin accompanied Merry and the twins to Umbridge's classroom, very reluctantly missing out on breakfast so they could get into her office while it was unnoccupied.

"Here you go." Said Fred, handing Merry the small yellow box full of powder.

"You're sure it will become invisible?" Merry asked for the fifth time since Fred had suggested it.

"Yes. As soon as the powder clings to something it will fade into the object. Just make sure not to get any on yourselves, okay!"

Pippin nodded, as did Merry. The twins carefully draped the Cloak over the hobbits, adjusting it so that it wasn't hitting the box.

The Cloak, of course, was just a precaution in case Umbridge finished breakfast early. Which Pippin really, really hoped would not happen.

"Alohomora." George whispered, pointing his wand at the door. There was a click and Merry gently pushed it open so as not to make it squeak on its hinges. Then they both walked to the left side of the desks towards her office.

Once inside, Pippin was shocked and somewhat disgusted by the sheer amount of _pink_ everywhere. Pink carpet, pink walls, pink table, even the sugar lumps resting in a small cup were pink! Even his sisters' rooms weren't this girly.

The room, luckily, was empty. Pippin helped take the Cloak off, laying it on the back of the chair ready to grab and put on at a moment's notice. Then he took the box from Merry, who went and stood by the door, listening for the slightest noise of someone's approach.

Pippin wasted no time and got to work. With one hand grabbing the box, the other safely encased in a dragon-hide glove, he pinched out the powder and begun sprinkling it on anything and everything, careful not to let it float onto his clothes or hair.

He chuckled gleefully as he watched the powder cling to things, then vanish, picturing Umbridge's reaction.

There was enough powder to coat pretty much everything. Job done, he looked over at Merry to make sure that the coast was still clear, before beckoning him over and pulling the Cloak back over them both.

Fred and George had made themselves scarce outside, so Merry and Pippin took off the Cloak again and went back to Gryffindor Tower, stuffing it under Merry's bed until they could give it back to Harry. Then they went down to the Great Hall to see if there was any time for a bit of food before the fun began.

* * *

Frodo followed Harry, Ron and Hermione into the classroom. He had known all week that Merry and Pippin were planning something against Umbridge but he had been kept out of the loop, as had the others.

Nothing seemed amiss in the classroom, Frodo noticed as he took his place with the rest of the hobbits at the back of the class. Harry, Ron and Hermione took their seats as the rest of the students did. Frodo could practically feel Merry and Pippin hiding their grins beside him.

Umbridge briskly strode into the room, holding her wand delicately with two hands, just as pink as ever. She walked straight past all the desks and announced that she was going to fetch a pop quiz from her office. Merry barely managed to hide a snort of laughter as she went up the stairs and into the small round office.

Her noises of disgust were loud enough for the whole class to hear. She had left the door ajar, so Frodo could easily see her pulling a handkerchief from her pocket and covering her nose and mouth with it as she muttered several spells...none of which seemed to be doing anything. Giving up with magic, she quickly grabbed the quiz and shut the door firmly behind her, removing the handkerchief and taking a deep breath.

"What was it?" Frodo hissed to Merry.

He grinned. "Fred's idea. It's this powder called Smell Ya Later. You coat anything in it and, after about an hour, it completely stinks it up. We covered her whole office in the stuff."

Frodo couldn't help but chuckle quietly to himself, noticing that most of the class was also poorly concealing their laughter.

Umbridge's face was the same colour as her dress as she marched to the front of the class and angrily slammed the papers down on her desk.

"Right. The student responsible for causing my office to have the odor of a troll's cave will step forth now or you will _all_ have detention with me!" she snapped, positively livid.

One student, Frodo remembered his name was Seamus Finnigan, raised his hand.

"You!" she cried.

Seamus shook his head. "No, it wasn't me, Professor, but I just wanted to ask: wouldn't your office always smell like a troll's cave?"

That was it. The entire class dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"Order! Order, now, or I will be reporting you all to the Minister!" Umbridge screeched, but none of the students seemed to care. Realising that no threats were going to work, she fixed her gaze on the four hobbits. "You! Come here."

She was pointing at Frodo.

"What? But I didn't..." He trailed off. Perhaps he should take the blame. After all, what could she do to him? And better him than Merry and Pippin.

He started to walk towards her. Pippin grabbed his arm. "Frodo, what are you doing?"

"It's fine." He reassured him. "She can't do anything to me. I'm not a student here." But Frodo wasn't so sure. Rationally, she had no power over him...but from what he'd heard the woman seemed rather too sadistic to worry about rationality.

He stood before her, once again noticing how short she was for someone who was not a hobbit. Pippin had been right on Monday; she could almost pass for a dwarf.

"Did you do this to my office?" Umbridge asked. The class had quietened down when she summoned Frodo to the front, so she was using that scarily calm voice that Frodo had barely heard but already despised.

Did he say yes? Or did he say that he had no clue who did it? Frodo thought long and hard for a moment.

"Yes, Professor." A burst of courage went through him as he remembered what she had been doing to Harry and other students. He decided to speak his mind. "I heard that you weren't being a very nice teacher to the students here and figured _I_ should teach _you_ a lesson. Just because you are in a position of power, it does not mean you have the right to treat those you are in control of like dirt. You should be teaching them, not torturing them!"

Her face had gone way beyond pink now and was more like the shade of red Frodo remembered the inside of the Gaffer's home-grown beetroots to be. Frodo waited, daring to hope that everyone was right and she couldn't harm him.

She lifted one fat finger and pointed it at him, speaking slowly and quietly. It was meant to be scary, but as soon as Frodo realised that she wasn't going to try and give him detention he found it quite comical.

"If I see you or any of your freakish, half-breed, monstrous friends near me again, Minister or not I will make sure that you are punished as you so deserve to be." She seemed to think that the threat did worry Frodo, because her skin returned to its normal colour and a sickly smile grew on her face. She turned back to the class, now thoroughly ignoring Frodo and the other hobbits. She let out a tiny, patronising laugh. "Now, shall we begin?"

They left the room. Frodo had a feeling that none of the students got any work done during that period.

Sure enough, the second the lesson was over and the students came pouring out of the room, they grabbed Frodo and lifted him into the air, cheering him as they walked down the long staircase.

"It was Merry and Pippin's idea!" Frodo cried, not wanting to take the credit. They picked both of the other hobbits up as well, but didn't put Frodo down.

"You showed her!" he heard Ron crow with excitement.

"Brilliant, Frodo, she definitely deserved it! And Merry and Pippin too, well done!" Hermione added.

But it was Harry who fought his way through the crowd and looked Frodo directly in the eye. "Thank you." He said, and Frodo grinned back and nodded, happy in the thought that he had maybe made some difference for this new friend who was going through more than anyone his age, be they hobbit or Man, should go through.

* * *

While elsewhere in the castle, students were celebrating the come-uppance of everyone's most hated Professor, Dumbledore was in his own office pacing back and forth.

He knew he was close to solving the problem of how to get Gandalf and the others back to Middle-earth, but there was just one small issue; the method he had in mind would require phenomenal power from both universes. He, of course, could provide that with the Elder Wand, but even Gandalf's staff didn't hold enough power from Middle-earth. The only thing would be to use...

But he couldn't. Dumbledore may have been away from his home universe for many, many years, but he was not ignorant as to the evil lure of the Ring and the overwhelming risks of attempting to use it.

Perhaps he did not have to _use_ it...perhaps there was a way of channelling its power as more of an amplification to Gandalf's magic, rather than using the Ring's magic itself. He would pitch the idea to Gandalf the following day and see what his old friend thought.

Either way, the entire process was a risk.

Dumbledore sat down on the chair behind his desk and extracted several of the many thoughts running around in his head, placing them in the Pensieve. Not for the first time did he ask himself: why did the universe never make anything easy for good people?

**A bit of seriousness at the end there because I don't want anyone to forget that this story DOES have a plot, even though there's a lot of fun in-between. As always, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. We're slowly nearing the end of the story, but there's still time to use people's ideas if anyone has any, so please let me know!**

**Review replies (as they are all called 'Guest' it will be 'Guest 1, Guest 2, etc' in order of earliest to most recent):**

**Guest 1: As I explained to another guest (unless it was you) at the end of the last chapter, this is set in the HP and LOTR universes, so the books for both series' don't exist. It is a good idea and if you like that sort of thing I recommend you read Aria Breuer's The Rival Houses, but sorry...not in this story. However, thank you very much for taking the time to review ^_^**

**Guest 2: Again, thank you for your review. Hmm...because the Fellowship came (in their timeline) from just before Caradhras and Moria, they don't have lembas bread or the other foods with them. And considering how long they've been in the HP universe, any food they did have would've gone off by now. Sorry, but thank you anyway :)**

**Guest 3: O...K...that was a lot of food! Fish fingers and custard! You are clearly a DW fan! However...your review made little sense other than listing food. I've done a couple of chapters where food is specifically mentioned ^_^ Thanks for the review...I guess.**

**Guest 4: Thank you :) Well, they are two of my favourite fandoms as well so I'm really glad you're enjoying it. And, here you go, another chapter :)**

**Again, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourite, followed, etc. Your support means the world to me, really ^_^ Till next time!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Right, I know it has been AGES since I've updated anything, but I have had so much going on in my life right now that my brain hasn't had a moment to concentrate on my stories. I won't go into detail about what, but I assure you it's not just something as simple as work. But, now things have calmed down a bit so I should be able to get a few things done. Thank you all SO SO SO much for supporting this story and me through the mini-hiatus and I apologise again for the wait. I hope this is worth it. Second to last chapter, everyone :) Unless I do an epilogue...don't know...**

**Also, I want to thank the Guest who reviewed the fabulous idea revealed at the end of this chapter. I won't spoil it :)**

Frodo headed down to the Great Hall the next morning, slightly nervous. Had he underestimated Umbridge's power? Would she ban them from the school? Worse?

He saw Merry, Pippin, Sam and a few students crowded around what appeared to be a new Educational Decree of Umbridge's. Stomach sinking, Frodo approached.

"Is it about us?" He asked Merry.

"Sort of." His cousin answered. "It says that only students and Professors are allowed to participate in classes from now on and that 'guests' have to be resigned to their respective dormitories during class hours."

"Which means we only got one week of fun." Pippin grumbled. "We should've done more."

Frodo shrugged; he was just relieved that it wasn't anything worse. "Have the others seen this?"

"Seen what?" Aragorn's voice met Frodo's ears and he turned to see the Ranger striding towards them. Frodo indicated the noticeboard, prompting Aragorn to raise an eyebrow and stare at all four hobbits. "You wouldn't have had anything to do with this, would you?"

Merry and Pippin were grinning. "Maaaybe." The former said.

Aragorn sighed, but Frodo could see that he was slightly amused. "No more. Do not forget; we need Dumbledore's help to get back to Middle-earth, and for that we need to remain here at Hogwarts. Try not to get us kicked out completely."

They nodded and all four of them followed Aragorn into the Great Hall for breakfast.

The rest of the Fellowship were nowhere to be seen, but it was a bit later than normal. Frodo assumed that they'd already come down and eaten. He took his usual place at the Gryffindor table near Harry, Ron and Hermione along with the other hobbits. Harry looked at him with an expression of sympathy.

"Sorry, for what she's done to you."

"It's fine." Frodo said quickly, not wanting Harry to feel guilty. "It was worth it."

"Definitely!" Pippin cried.

Ron nodded. "As annoying as the new Decree is, I agree there."

Even Hermione looked like she was happy with the previous day's events.

"At least today is Saturday, so you don't have to spend it in your rooms." She informed them. Frodo nodded.

"What are we going to do today?" He asked, then realised that sounded a bit presumptuous; what if they wanted to do something on their own?

However, there was no hesitation when Harry whispered, "Well, there's a DA meeting this afternoon and we were wondering if you and the others would like to watch."

Frodo smiled widely; this was something he had been looking forward to. "Yes, I'd love to."

Merry, Pippin and Sam agreed, the latter showing more enthusiasm than Frodo had expected. They all finished breakfast, then went off to find the rest of the Fellowship to inform them.

As he walked out of the Great Hall, Frodo noticed Draco Malfoy staring at him from the Slytherin table. Well, actually it was more like a death glare. Frodo frowned, before wondering if Malfoy had decided to get him back for the honey-prank before Christmas. He would have to be careful...

* * *

Harry had also noticed the direction of Malfoy's glare and vowed to keep a close eye on the Slytherin throughout the day. He didn't want Malfoy following them to the seventh floor, or worse.

After they told the others about the DA meeting, Harry and his friends went to visit Dobby and Winky again. The latter just sat in a corner nursing another bottle of Butterbeer, but Dobby was as chatty as always, yammering away happily about his time as a free Elf and how much he enjoyed working at Hogwarts.

By the time it was ready for lunch, they were all so full from the mountains of platters the House-elves had thrust upon them that no-one wanted to return to the Great Hall. Instead, Harry asked for some light sandwiches that they all took outside down to the lake.

In the week since returning to Hogwarts, a lot of the snow had melted around the lake, which was no longer frozen – except for some floating ice floes here and there. So, Hermione conjured up a blanket and they sat far enough from the water's edge to avoid the Giant Squid.

That seemed to disappoint Merry and Pippin.

Looking around while the others chatted, Harry again noticed that Malfoy wasn't too far away. Perhaps he really was following them, or following Frodo at least.

He sat with Crabbe and Goyle about fifty metres away. If Harry hadn't been witness to the daggers he was staring at Frodo in the Great Hall, he would have assumed they were discussing nothing more than how happy they were to be Umbridge's favourites, but now he could see that Malfoy was clearly relaying some sort of plan to his two cronies.

Harry nudged Ron and pointed.

"Slimy git." Ron muttered. "What's he up to now."

"I don't know, but I think Frodo is going to be the one to suffer." He turned to the hobbit, who was frowning at Malfoy.

"What could he do to me?" Frodo asked.

It was Harry's turn to frown, now. "Well, Frodo...you are rather on the small side. And even though between them Crabbe and Goyle haven't got a brain cell to share, they are built like towers."

"But I wasn't planning on going anywhere on my own today." Frodo said.

"Let's keep it that way." Harry muttered worriedly.

* * *

It was nearly evening when Gandalf rushed eagerly up to Dumbledore's office.

Just minutes ago he had received a message from the other Wizard saying that he had finally discovered a way to return them all to Middle-earth, and it could be done _that very night_.

He stepped inside the large room, full of various smoking and noisy contraptions perched precariously on tables. After navigating his way to Dumbledore's desk and taking a seat, he realised that the other Wizard...was not there.

"Albus?" Gandalf called.

"In here, just one moment." Dumbledore's deep voice replied and Gandalf turned in the direction of the voice to realise that he'd completely missed him standing in the back behind one of the instruments.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, you see, this machine," Dumbledore explained. "Is what will get you home." He picked it up and brought it over to the desk. It looked rather like Gandalf's pipe; there was a tube maybe just under a foot long, with a bowl at one end. It didn't look particularly remarkable, but Gandalf knew never to judge things by their appearances.

"How will it work?"

"This is a device that channels magical power." Dumbledore indicated as he spoke. "I did not know whether it would be powerful enough for the necessary procedure, but after testing it with some magic of my own, I am confidant. You see, my friend, yesterday I realised that if enough power is used from both here and Middle-earth, this can open a connecting portal between the two. My wand is powerful enough from here, but..."

Gandalf nodded, he already realised what Dumbledore was getting at. "But you need to use the Ring." He sighed.

"Do not worry." Dumbledore said quickly. "Neither of us, nor young Frodo will be in danger during this procedure. This machine will do all the work."

"Are you sure, Albus?" Gandalf pressed. "The Ring is more powerful than any will in Middle-earth. I even fear for Frodo, should he wear it for too long. How can this be able to, as you say, channel its power?"

"I assure you, it will not fail. I have tested it myself with the most powerful magic I can conjure, and it has reacted as smoothly as expected. If anything goes awry, all we must do is remove either the Ring or my wand and the machine will shut down." Dumbledore reassured.

Gandalf thought long and hard. He did not want to risk any danger, but if Dumbledore was sure..."Alright, let's get everyone together."

Within twenty minutes, the entire Fellowship mingled around the room. All were overjoyed at the prospect of returning home.

Several students had also accompanied them, wishing to say goodbye. Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys especially looked rather sad, having clearly not expected this to be happening quite when it was.

However, Gandalf's gaze was fixed on Frodo. The oldest hobbit of the group looked upset about something, but seemed to be waiting to say something. He was breathing fast and also had a paler-than-normal sheen to his skin.

"What is the matter, Frodo?" he asked, going over to the hobbit.

As Frodo opened his mouth to reply, Dumbledore called, "Frodo, can you please bring over the Ring?"

Frodo seemed to pale even more. Sam and Merry moved as one to support him. Gandalf was worried he would pass out.

"I can't." Frodo breathed. "Draco Malfoy has stolen the Ring."

**I PROMISE I will not leave you on this cliffhanger for more than two weeks. That's the best I can do...sorry. Within two weeks, I will update. If not, feel free to hate mail me. You will find out how Malfoy stole the Ring next chapter :)**

**Loads of guest reviews! I'll reply in order of earliest to latest so you should be able to work out who I'm replying to. Some of the reviews might be from the same person, but I'll just reply to each review.**

**Guest: Hmm, I like the idea about Frodo getting trapped in the Chamber, but there isn't really enough time to do that now. Thanks for the idea, though :) As for things from Middle-earth, this story won't go into Middle-earth much which is why I've had to work within the HP universe. Thank you :)**

**Guest: I possibly will one day, but I'd rather do it when I really feel in the mood, so for now there will be no sequel. Thanks, though :)**

**Guest: Well, Harry has already told Frodo most of his story in the background. However, if YOU want to get an account and write a one shot where that happens, go ahead :)**

**Guest: As you can see, I've used it! Thank you so much! When I saw that idea I was like 'YES that's exactly what I needed for the last two chapters, that's why I ask for ideas'. So, this chapter and the one after it are dedicated to you :)**

**Guest: Wait and see.**

**Guest: Good idea, but not for this fic. Thanks, though :)**

**Guest: Thanks for reminding me. I'll put it into the next chapter :)**

**Guest: Sorry, I can't bring stuff from Middle-earth here because it's set exclusively in the HP universe, until they go back right at the end.**

**Guest: Again, great idea. I kind of wish you'd given me these ideas earlier because now there's not enough time to do it...I've already set up the ending. Maybe there will be one more chapter than I thought, we'll wait and see :)**

**Marty munster: Because in the LOTR universe, they haven't met Gollum yet. Sorry. As for your other review, lol, here's the update. I know that people have wanted replies and again, I apologise. I hope you all understand :)**

**Thank you to everyone!**


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